XP activation loop

I replaced a dead eMachines motherboard with a very similar Asus motherboard.  Almost the only difference is the BIOS, which is for an HP machine instead of an eMachines machine.  Also, the onboard audio controller is different, but I think that's the only functional difference.

Using the new motherboard with the the original hard disk drive, which has Windows XP Home + SP1 installed, it boots up to the Welcome/logon screen, but when I try to log on it says:

[Windows Product Activation]
This copy of Windows must be activated with Microsoft before you can log in.
Do you want to activate Windows now?
[Yes]  [No]

I say yes, and it says:

[Activate Windows]
Windows Product Activation
Windows is already activated.
[OK]

I click OK and it takes me back to the Welcome (log on) screen.

The only way to bypass the loop is to boot up in "Safe Mode With Command Prompt."

Over three hours on the phone with Microsoft yielded no solution (nor even an admission that it is a bug for Windows to simultaneously insist that it needs to be activated and is already activated).  The only useful thing I learned from that ordeal is that, remarkably, I can install a fresh copy of XP+SP1 on a clean hard disk drive using the eMachines Restore CDs (which use Norton Ghost), and activate it without a hitch using the Product Key from the sticker on the case.

I'm really surprised that the eMachines restore CDs work on a machine that no longer has an eMachines BIOS.  But they do.

But I'd really like to re-activate the already-installed copy of Windows.

By booting in Safe Mode With Command Prompt, I can try various things to fix it.  I've tried a lot of things so far, without success:

changed \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WPAEvents\OOBETimer

regsvr32 regwizc.dll
regsvr32 licdll.dll

replaced \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System with a copy saved from the fresh install.

deleted \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersio n\WindowsUpdate\IUControl

deleted \HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersio n\WindowsUpdate\OemInfo

Replaced c:\windows\system32\WPA.DBL and c:\windows\system32\WPA.BAK with copies from the fresh install.

I can't figure out why msoobe.exe thinks that windows is already activated.  I assume that it is looking somewhere in the registry, but I can't figure out where.  I even exported "before" and "after" copies of the registry, before and after activating the fresh install, and then I compared the two .reg files to try to discover what had changed.  Unfortunately, a LOT changed, and I can't tell what is important.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks,

-Dave

I know how it sounds but maybe it is time to search "Activation" tool?

Edited by EP_X0FF - 16 May 2006 at 7:54am

BenM wrote: I thought of this too......Great minds think alike ay EP_XOFF!

He, he I can recommend XPActivator tool, activate everything from XP to 2003 SP1, he, he

p.s.
If seriously what Microsoft thinks about this problem? Another "hotfix"?

gaana wrote: Do you see any of these files on machine? srvany.exe resetservice.exe reset5.dll reset5.* srvany.* resetservice.*

No, none of those files are on this machine.

-Dave

I tried to use RegMon to monitor msoobe.exe, to see what registry entries it is looking at when it runs at log-on time and gives the "already activated" error.  I intended to start XP in Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and then run RegMon and use its "Log Boot" option to make it run during the next boot, when the Welcome/log-on presumably runs msoobe.exe to activate Windows.

I hoped that, by carefully noting the time when I answer "Yes" to the question about activating Windows, I could tell just what msoobe.exe was looking at in the registry, to conclude that XP was already activated.

No joy.  RegMon won't start, presumably because XP is running in Safe Mode with Command Prompt.  The error message is:


This is the first time I've ever tried to use RegMon, so I don't really know what I'm doing.  Is there something obvious that I'm doing wrong?

Or... how about this?  I assume that all the Boot Log option does is to store a HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ RunOnce registry entry, to tell Windows XP to run RegMon at next boot.   Right?  Then can someone tell me the command-line that I can manually put in that registry entry, to run RegMon in Boot Log mode, at next boot time (and whatever other steps are needed, if any, like perhaps manually extracting the RegMon device driver and putting it somewhere)?

Thanks!

-Dave