XP Activation

[scj6771]

I have imaged countless laptops over the years using PowerQuest Deploy Center, I have never ran into many issues untill lately, after imaging a few IBM X40 laptops running Windows XP and deploying that image onto other X40'S I can't get those machine to activate XP, I am using the correct key codes and still it tells me that the code is wrong, so I figured I would use the IBM restore option to bring the machine back to it's factory state and image the machine with an older X40 image that I know works, yet still even after restoring the older image I get the same error when I try to activate windows, what is causing this? why would it still have this problem even after restoring it back to factory and then re-imaging? could I re-run Sysprep?

[doctorgonzo]

I know nothing about Deploy Center, but I do the same thing with Norton Ghost and after we put the image on the computer we have to run a utility that changes the SID (Security Identifier) in Windows. If you don't, you will have a bunch of XP installs that have the same SID, and so it looks like you are installing the same copy on too many computers. That might be your problem. Do you have the licenses to install Windows on the computers you have?

[scj6771]

Thanks for the reply, actually Sysprep in incorporated with Deploy center, it is run before we create the image, then after you image each machine it will prompt you for the computer name, key code etc......which has always worked, that is why I do not understand what has happened to a handfull of our laptops, regardless of how many time we image them it will not activate.

[scj6771]

I have found a way around the situation. Thanks.

[DragonNOA1]

What did you end up doing to fix it? TY