How to copy WPA.DBL into system32

[Dharmesh Arora]

Recently i had reinstalled Windows Xp on my system. It will ask me to activate windows within 30 days of course. For that i tried to paste the WPA.DBL which i had copied from the last install into the new system32 file, but couldn't succeed in it. Can any body tell me that how do i get WPA.DBL file from system32 from my current Windows installation, which would allow me to paste this into a new install and doesn't need to reactivate the product? Does any body knows about it? Kindly provide me the correct solution for the above issue.

[Eric B]

Windows XP stores the hardware configuration information of the computer at the time of activation, product activation state status, expiration info of the XP installation, and the current hardware specification in WPA.DBL file which located in %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. The fact is that software piracy is fairly rampant and that Microsoft is the target for a large percentage of the piracy due to their dominance in the operating system and office productivity software markets.

[Glenny]

First option would be that you can't pirate anything, because this only works if it's the same windows version on the same hardware configuration. Product activation monitors the system configuration. However, WPA.DBL file is not protected, and if user deletes it, user will have to re-activate Windows XP again.

[JonathanD]

Users who reformat their hard drive and perform a clean installation of the operating system will find that they need to reactivate the product. Follow the steps below to save the activation status information and restore it once your system is rebuilt:

• Open My Computer or Windows Explorer.
• Navigate to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder (normally C:\Windows\System32). You may have to click on the Show the contents of this folder link to display the files.
• Copy WPA.DBL and WPA.BAK to a floppy disk, USB key flash drive, portable external hard disk or burn the files to a CD or DVD.
• Go ahead to reformat hard disk drive and reinstall Windows XP on the same computer.
• After the installation is completed and the Windows XP Out of Box Experience (OOBE) window appear, click on No button when asked if user want to activate to skip and decline going through the activation process.
• Restart the computer and press F8 on boot up and then select to start in Minimal Safe Mode in “Advanced Boot Options” menu.
• Open My Computer or Windows Explorer.
• Navigate to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder (normally C:\Windows\System32). You may have to click on the Show the contents of this folder link to display the files.
• Rename the WPA.DBL and WPA.BAK (if exists) that currently reside in the directory.
• Copy the original WPA.DBL and WPA.BAK previously backed up to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder.
• Restart the computer. Windows XP should be activated instantly and automatically.