Breaking Windows XP activation

[@politicallyambiguous8424]

Windows XP and Vista RTM's activation system was pretty harsh. Now, not activating results in a watermark.

[@oneup117gaming4]

And not being able to customize your computer (sorta, you can still right clock an image and set as wallpaper)

[@pikaaxyt]

No, Vista just says you to buy a product key but you can ignore the message. The worst was especially XP

[@politicallyambiguous8424]

@@pikaaxyt Vista after SP1 was like that. It just shot up notices and changed your wallpaper to black just like Windows 7. Vista RTM (before service packs) however was much more harsh, blocking access to most programs. It was called "Reduced Functionality Mode."

[@und4287]

SP3 was slightly more lax though

[@misunderstoodfern391]

which you can remove said watermark with a simple .bat file lmao If you don't care about not being able to customize, just remove that eyesore.

[@Leona_tf]

I love how in the past, they notify you that you're entering a *secure* web. Shows how different the internet is during 2000s.

[@realstormdancer]

This is because not many websites really had https right away, but only big ones did in 2001, slowly everyone started adapting to that over the years so it was gonna notify you that it is secure, I guess

[@Leona_tf]

@@realstormdancer Yeah I know, I lived during that time, after all. But I never realized I've been taking HTTPS for granted.

[@winbetatester]

Now the https is taking away the web

[@davidsenatsky5567]

2001 Microsoft: "You don't need to give us you name or any other personal information to activate Windows" 2021 Microsoft: "To activate windows create a Microsoft account. To create an account in turn on WiFi, Bluetooth, location, provide your name, phone number and credit card details"

[@weigurde]

@@winbetatester wdym

[@pepehun_]

i really liked this style instead of the subtitled ones, the background music was very nice too

[@Blahe_]

Agreed

[@steriftes]

Agreed

[@connorsoares8058]

Yeah I like the voice a lot better

[@PiTheGuyAlt]

Agreed

[@cuddenudd7697]

Sry guys but i miss the subtitles and dubstep music :(

[@mix3k818]

Windows XP had so many bugs when it launched, it's kinda funny

[@talkingtom2567]

What Are you doing you ENDERMAN!!!?

[@lyzine]

Mirosław?

[@UZI9MMAUTO]

If it wasn't for the SP2 x64. & SP3 for x86. I'd rank XP up with Me.

[@UZI9MMAUTO]

@Pandorra Randall I run a windows XP group on Facebook. interested?

[@UZI9MMAUTO]

@Pandorra Randall stop on in facebook.com/groups/WindowsXP/?ref=share

[@GavinFromWeb]

i like the commentated vids, you should continue doing them

[@DavidWonn]

One common tactic back in the day for software that expired after a certain period of time, was to set the clock forward several months or years _before_ installing such software. After installing, set the clock back to where it should be, and your software trial lasted significantly longer. The trick, of course, was knowing how far back was too far back, though.

[@thepwrtank18]

A lot of software detects this and responds by ending the trial immediately, though.

[@DavidWonn]

@@thepwrtank18 The trick worked mostly during the 16-bit and early 32-bit eras. Nowadays, there is only a small variance for error (accommodating things like minor clock drift and time zones) which is nearly negligible. PCs with bad CMOS batteries could still be an interesting experiment though.

[@functional200]

only true ones will remember when it was called Breaking Windows XP Activation

[@JonasTisell]

Still called that in notifications :P

[@TheSwagNinja49]

@@axelestial what hacks did u try to use lmao most arent even viruses. or is it a joke

[@TheSwagNinja49]

@@axelestial ah

[@yeppiidev]

@@axelestial sharchashm detected

[@shr1han]

T H E L E G E N D S

[@spacecoyote9137]

Loving the music and your voice in this video, I'd like this style to appear more

[@97LiuBei]

Nice video, the music matches with your voices well... It would be better if you have close captions/subtitles added to the video using KZbin Studio

[@Leona_tf]

I agreed. Adding subtitles, while annoying for the one who makes it, is really nice to have. My hearing isn't something I can be proud of, so I rely on subtitles.

[@notmilenakos]

huh? how i see cc is enabled and working well

[@97LiuBei]

@@notmilenakos it wasn't available at the day the video is uploaded.

[@notmilenakos]

@@97LiuBei oh ok sorry

[@97LiuBei]

@@notmilenakos it's okay, no worries :)

[@android199ios25]

Love voice over videos, not having to read after long study session is relaxing.

[@wilsonanderson1415]

So here's the roadmap to break every single activation: Windows XP: prolonging the trial time (com.) Windows Vista RTM: how to bypass the one-hour logon limit Vista SP1/2 and 7: how to bypass the black screen mode and unlocking personalization 8 and up: unlocking personalization (and the full screen activation notification for 8 and 8.1)

[@christianclark1354]

Windows XP activation and smooth jazz, this is how I spend my free time

[@EymenWinnerYT]

2001: You need to use key for use windows xp 2021: Get an account for finish setup

[@WindyCooly]

The window XP UI hit my childhood memory so hard

[@vkvishnu]

That's very interesting Enderman, Nice video.

[@WXLM-MorganNicole619]

Wow! What a time capsule. I remember having a trial of XP and that was fun.

[@Techo410]

I like how enderman takes the pumpkin in the intro

[@timdasilvamickley]

Yeah he needs it to make pumpkin pie. Otherwise he can't regenerate lives

[@demomango]

Enderman takes the pumpkin so you can't wear it and hide from him.

[@timdasilvamickley]

@@demomango even smarter

[@BraixenKartzem]

@@demomango But it's a pumpkin with a lantern in it, so you can't really wear it because you might damage your vision

[@demomango]

@@BraixenKartzem ok

[@baseddoggie]

You can also escape the activation window using Windows Narrator by pressing Windows Key + U at any time when the window is up. On some installs of XP, the activation window actually checks if you have network connectivity before opening the website link in the "Change product key" section, so it won't work if you are offline. Windows Narrator however will always launch and instantly presents you with a link to Internet Explorer.

[@zvonimirkovacevic555]

what kind of a hacker are you? :) thx man

[@FairPlay137]

In my personal experience activating Windows and/or Office using the link they text you when you say you want to receive a text is somewhat less painful than having to do it the non-smartphone way.

[@shr1han]

No wonder. That sethc.exe bug hasn't been fixed for years.

[@cydragon2.099]

so what's next Win 7, 10, or 11 to glitch the activation

[@DarkyBoy]

I know you said during a stream you wouldn't fully switch to voices videos but they're really good! Please continue making these in the future

[@piruleib]

microsoft: you didnt activate your windows, so we blocked your system until you do it. enderman: hold my pumpkin

[@mulahasan8195]

thanks for doing consistent uploads again

[@swetavsavarn5517]

what if we can change the date in the past like if the activation date is 21st july and we have revert the calendar to 21st jan then probably it should not pop out that windows activation dialog box

[@CesareVesdani]

Why do I get an activation loop when trying to activate Windows XP with a product key.

[@iloveitwhenusuffer]

yesss we love to see videos with your voice

[@nov2263]

I never had to worry about that, I still have the product key memorized in my head that I got from the IT guy at school when I was12 in 2005.

[@lightmaxifrvr]

@Enderman the new voiceover style is nice

[@Noob10983]

Excellent video!

[@Viridisite]

you have to go to walmart

[@MohamedSaidAlzaraa]

@@Viridisite lol why

[@WickerBasket9]

Your voice makes the video even better! Keep it up, Andrew!

[@ReisCompanyOffice]

hello, I have a problem with an older PC connected to an equally old CNC. even if I have a valid license when I wanted to use it I am in a loop with "Activation Successful" at minute 4:39 no matter what I do. I tried almost everything I found on the net but I still have the loop.

[@theflame45]

windows xp was my first windows ever that i used back in 2004, it gives me the nostalgic feeling, man the good old day..

[@slowerhumans3703]

love the war of the whiskers music!

[@Pawlash]

nice video! you've done it better than the previous one with voice

[@AndrewVanDay]

There's a lot of quick clicking around 3:34 to 4:04 which not clearly explained (to me) what is going on. I can't get any of this to work though. I do not get the registration screen. I'm just stuck in a loop, or if I go into safe mode the entering of the rundll32 etc. command & restart doesn't work either.

[@ToastedHeadcrab]

Truly the unknown user moment of all time

[@evanliu0803]

This video is far more different than before

[@shoeskode136]

the fact that before windows xp if you dint activate your windows would just DIE

[@moth.monster]

I just want to say that your English is very good!

[@kirilshmidt5127]

Nice to hear your voice for first time

[@HauruI]

Second* ^^'

[@lazdnet]

I can't believe this works, but it did with Windows XP in a VM in 2023. Thanks for the video!

[@ZakyFerdian1]

nostalgia when I accidently open a file then this showed up

[@nuttapongpunpipat918]

so IMO, first bug is an really feature not a bug it only check if date is reverse back or not. In another word, Activation system have recorded the datetime value, so changing in reverse will destory thing. Oh idk if changing timezone also destory or have some bug that allow changing trial day amount lamo

[@4cps777]

I just can't decide if the new style is better than the old. I love the old videos and I think that Enderman should keep making them but his voice is also rlly nice xd

[@Channellock1000]

2:33 nắng ói bức....

[@phantomfighterxx]

Are you livin in Kaluga?

[@Raul_Gajadhar]

I slipstream a lot of windows 95/98/Me/2000/Xp I stopped at windows 7 though. You know for some reason I still remember all the Serial Key for Xp YMDCV-2TJMR-YTVMK-XXXX-V7PBD I redacted that string on purpose. windows 95 was nothing to cheat, but by windows 98 they got better at validations, and by 7 well I have keys I bought, but use them in slipstream. Your channel is very interesting I like the nostalgia I get from this sorta videos.

[@Furetto126]

Hey, in the Windows 11 live i note that you have dolphin in your PC, so I thought if you can make an Wii .iso game into a bootable file

[@guest8173gaming]

1. For me, it asks me to enter my product key in the setup. 2. How would I do this? 3. It's probably impossible since this is in 2021 or 2022.

[@videocommenter]

3:04 Please contact your computer manufacturer if you are unable to locate *you* COA label.

[@1nikolas]

I remember finding this bug back when I was in school, but I didn't know how to reset the trial...

[@pb-doslegacy2020]

Maybe you can use this trick on RC/Beta 2 Whistler builds as well, after changing the date back?

[@Shaggy123-r8o]

Why is the bot still on? My thoughts on this: - Because they don't have to hire anyone for this job and not many people call this number, so it isn't full - Automatically generating codes (pretty much no maintenence needed)

[@ITAC85]

I like this bew editing style!

[@rodhester2166]

I just wish that after 20 years the microsoft OS would not require a activation anymore.

[@KASE94]

this stopped working for me recently. My PC has been off for months and now when i got the interest to play some games again it wont work :/

[@windestruct]

The third bug actually happened to me while activating windows xp from registry on real hardware

[@MATAM29]

I didn't know IE 6 can function as a real file manager that looks like Explorer too. Reminds me of Konqueror, that can function as both a browser and a real file manager too.

[@DavidWonn]

It’s been capable of doing this way further back as well. For instance, if you browsed local directories on IE3 on Win95, it gave somewhat of a preview of what the Win98 interface would look like years later. But the added benefit of keeping the older version intact was so that you could still use the much snappier, more efficient, built-in Windows Explorer without "webbifying" the whole UI.

[@le9038]

Lol what other activation bugs are in other operating systems?

[@amy-joe5772]

You can keep trying numbers until you get it it may take a bit of time

[@viejodelentes6079]

I have the real windows installation disc and the real CD key, but still wants me to activate windows? Is there a way to do it? I've heard the servers no longer work, it should be a simple fix at this point, but Microsoft says I'm screwed and need to upgrade to the newest windows...

[@Vikto]

also that command runddl32 you can do it in safe mode with cmd

[@jeffystreet]

Any time I try this it doesn't work. It never even says "Windows is already activated". What gives? I've made it work before, why the hell is it broken now?

[@EnzoDegraeve]

Tanks for subtitles !

[@inqmusician2]

The guy who worked on WPA has a channel on KZbin, if you didn't know. I'll leave the link in replies if you ask.

[@Endermanch]

sure

[@andresbravo2003]

This is quite amazing. I really liked the method.

[@voivix]

Moving from text to actual speech. I like it.

[@piotrk9384]

Either I do something wrong or it doesn't work for WinXP Pro with SP2... :( In addition, IE does not start when there is no network available... any clues how to solve it?

[@grigoriy_pesorin]

This video is very familiar to your friend Daniel's video.

[@UYT-Guy]

3:48 or you could use the sethc cmd bug

[@lyzine]

is there a "You broke my intro :D" in the intro

[@timdasilvamickley]

Hey Enderman I wanted to ask how much did it cost to call the US activation hotline from russia

[@SaritaKumari-gd3uf]

1$ it is

[@timdasilvamickley]

@@SaritaKumari-gd3uf aha ok

[@CrabHead501]

I like the voiced vids but subtitles are kind of better idk maybe because it was used more often than voiced

[@panagiotispsomas5611]

The music is the same one of the playlist from Masoutis supermarket in Greece. If you don't know about Masoutis is something like Walmart but it wasn't all the products in this supermarket is overpriced for the same quality.

[@oneup117gaming4]

I like the voiceover.

[@caspcounico]

enderman is quitting the OG text commentary thats cool

[@KASE94]

The website doesnt open for me. Do i need to have the pc plugged in to a network?? UPDATE: I just ran the cmd in safe mode and it worked. Thx mate!

[@connorsoares8058]

The videos with your voice are so much better!

[@ThePolishOrange]

Only real guys will remember when it was called: Windows XP activation bugs

[@Adamgil520]

This is forever? whether it is activated again after some time?

[@BanriFerdinand]

Muchas gracias por el subtitulado. Muy informativo el vídeo

[@retro_black421]

Does this way keep it activated forever or will I have to do the entire process or parts of the process every time or is it a one time only thing as I'm still trying to find a safe way to activate my copy thank you

[@orca7134]

Another oversight: There's a grammar error at 3:16

[@osftuk1154]

What pc specs are you using it on

[@doililar6178]

hi.. how to remove the product key 30 days?

[@jazzytunester]

Hooray for more voiced vids!

[@Lostcontroller]

As of the posting of this comment, I used the phone activation and it worked flawlessly.

[@WolfProductionss]

MORE VOICED VIDS YESS

[@arkak420]

can you extend free xp trial to more than 100 years if u set date to 1900?

[@NatanMatysiak]

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU SAVED ME FROM WINDOWS XP ACTIVATION HELL 👍👍👍👍

[@Chesterrrrrx]

uhh... windows xp means windows 7 ???

[@MohamedSaidAlzaraa]

no

[@Chesterrrrrx]

@@MohamedSaidAlzaraa i know im just geeking bruh

[@andypaunov8109]

Did you seriously dig as deep in this applet to get to IE? Just press Ctrl+U and seek for help (unless you want the sethc bug)! Btw, I loved the style of the video, go for it!

[@raffayqazi2727]

Finally Video Uploaded!!!!:)

[@guyyouwillneverknow]

WinXP Pro is great for getting TWAIN devices to continue. Got my XP activated again on my external eSATA HD on my Win10 laptop. I am so pleased with myself and I didn't break any rules doing so. Now I might try to do the same with my labtop and an old copy of XP Home for an old DELL but on my ASIS-i7. TWAIN can rule again! Better than on the Win7 Pro for Virtual-XP. I wrote this with the FireFox Browser for XP. The 20th century can continue for the time being. I am well pleased. Won't use this for web browsing though as trojans can destroy all this fun.

[@digigaming8514]

Next, breaking Replacing Windows XP Explorer with Windows 11's Explorer

[@olosss9548]

Hi Enderman, can I have the Ethernet Driver for Windows? I couldn't find it anywhere.

[@quochungminecraft4648]

can it work in windows 7 to 11 ?

[@pseudo-octave]

prob not

[@mecerman45]

I like it how this dosent work

[@P-G-77]

Remember me... good and bad times... only view the Windows XP load screen... 😁