XP offline activation tool, xp_activate32.exe

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https://www.neowin.net/news/windows-xp-activation-algorithm-cracked-after-21-years-what-now/

..The newly introduced offline activation tool, xp_activate32.exe, offers a compact executable package designed as a “phone activation utility” for Windows XP. This tool allows users to activate the operating system entirely offline, eliminating the need to connect to potentially risky online environments.

With a file size of only 18 KB, “Windows XP Activation: GAME OVER” provides a convenient means for tinkerers to activate their Windows XP systems without internet connectivity…

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On XP you don’t connect, rather you have to call in.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Susan Bradley wrote:

On XP you don’t connect, rather you have to call in

package designed as a “phone activation utility

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I connect to the internet with Windows Xp and it is fine. I am poor and can not get new OS. But look at the OS in the stores, all look like they were made by people without common sense. It is good to know that there is a utilit to use if need to active xp now that the servers are down now. Thanks for the great info.

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xp_activate32.exe appears to work only with the 32bit/x86 edition of Windows XP.

don’t know if there was a 64bit or x64 equivalent of that tool that would work with the less common 64bit (IA64 itanium & x64) editions of XP

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Alex5723

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Windows XP activation algorithm cracked, keygen now works on Linux

The unkillable OS rises from the grave… Again

Over 21 years after it first came out, the Microsoft operating system that will not die is receiving another lease of life. It’s possible to activate new Windows XP installations, safely and securely, without a crack, offline.

A blog post on tinyapps has revealed the hot news that nobody sane has been waiting for: the algorithm and methods Microsoft uses to validate Windows XP product keys have not only been defeated, it can be done so using Linux.

In all, it’s possible to generate valid activation codes for Windows XP without an internet connection. This is useful because the OS shouldn’t really be connected to the ‘net, and as-is can no longer talk to Microsoft’s servers to activate anyway…

This month, that aforementioned open-source key generator was forked, and fixed up to work on Linux.

A word of caution and restraint. Please don’t take this article as a recommendation to run Windows XP. It wasn’t the most secure of operating systems back in 2001, and you really should not be running it in 2023 — especially not on anything that is connected to the internet.

The same tinyapps.org site itself is a treasure trove of minimalist applications for this long obsolete OS. We are told that there is an active community of XP fans on the internet helping each other out with advice on keeping this geriatric code running today, but really, seriously, please don’t unless you have absolutely no alternative. If it’s an option, run it in a VM, and keep it isolated from the internet.

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Of course I’ll never use this for anything serious but it’s something I find interesting nonetheless. I’d imagine that the phone system wasn’t much of a target because there were easier alternatives, such as volume licence keys that didn’t need activation in the first place.

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where could i possibly find a download link? The subreddit is private.

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I’ve looked everywhere for XP_Activate32.exe

 

Can you send me a site where I can get it please

 

Alan

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Why are you trying to activate XP?

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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There was a Google Drive location, but Google took it down as a “violation of its terms of service.”

However, xp_activate32.exe can be downloaded as an 8 kb 7-Zip file, xp_activate32.7z, here:

https://mega.nz/file/nkJRwQIS#313TDXlkG1ly5WdYFyQ7OgY_rbZFGbwqgreIV6VKebU

But, just as an Internet best practice, it’s best done in a way that’s sandboxed (virtual machine or disposable spare physical machine that can be re-cloned).  (You can also then virus check it before unzipping.)

The actual executable, xp_activate32.exe, is 18,432 bytes long, and is dated 1/15/2022 at 8:24 PM in the Properties/Detail panel.

It comes with an SHA-256 hash:

5a4bcac5a50eb5113dd6a2f88c35ebdb709c4df8a792c71ad03ea347afaced52

that you can use to check that the file has not been tampered with.  (At a command prompt, navigate to the folder where the file is located, and enter the command:

certutil -hashfile xp_activate32.exe SHA256

to verify the hash.)

The program will run in all versions of windows, but is only really useful in an unactivated copy of XP 32-bit, because it works by accessing XP’s licensing engine.  It runs when you click on the “Get from the system” button at top right, which then populates the “Installation ID” window.  If XP is already activated, it tells you so.  If you run it in a version other than XP, it says “Failed to initialize license manager.”

In a non-activated XP installation, it will presumably populate both the top window with the installation ID, and the confirmation ID with a viable return code, leaving you only to click “Store to the System” to activate the installation.  Run file.  Two clicks.  Pretty slick.

And enormously useful to anyone who needs to virtualize old XP installations to run on modern hardware, because after virtualization they inevitably require re-activation.  A portable 18k two-click solution is great.  Just like the old days – a real service to an underserved community.

Thank you to whoever wrote this.

— AWRon

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SupremeLaW, Cybertooth

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Many thanks, God Bls u.

1 user thanked author for this post.

SupremeLaW

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Then you COULD go to: Legacy Update
to fill in the blanks..with ..?!

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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PKCano

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NEED HELP HERE!

We require 1 x Windows XP PC to continue with our HP scanner:  HP never updated the drivers for Windows 7 et seq.

This morning, in the motherboard BIOS I simply changed the on-board NIC from PCIe to PCI, to do a test.

That triggered the ACTIVATION message.

Making matters worse, I restored a working drive image of C:, expecting that successful restore to revert to a working C: partition, but the ACTIVATION message IS STILL SHOWING at STARTUP.

Any and all help will be most appreciated.

Also, please don’t take my frustration personally:  I’m not in the best of moods, after this latest MS eXPerience.

p.s.  Windows XP now tells me I have 3 days to “activate”.

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SUCCESS (I hope)!

I ran xp_activate32.exe — two clicks — and then RESTARTED.

It appears to have worked OK:  the ACTIVATION message did NOT appear after a normal RESTART.

Many thanks for everyone who contributed here.

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Thank the genius who cracked the code.

Invaluable.

— AWRon

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SupremeLaW

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p.s. short notes here:

 

On our vanilla Windows XP PC, “certutil” is not a native command.

On our Windows 10 workstation, we find it here:

C:\Windows\System32\certutil.exe

 

Also, in Windows 10 Command Prompt

certutil /? >readme.txt

does NOT write any help text about the “SHA256” command line option.

The “SHA256” command line option is documented here:

https://techdocs.akamai.com/download-ctr/docs/verify-checksum

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