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How to extend Vista activation deadline. |
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Microsoft has built into Vista a function that allows anyone to extend the operating system's activation deadline not just three times, but many times. The same one-line command that postpones Vista's activation deadline to 120 days can be used an indefinite number of times by first changing a Registry key from 0 to 1.
This isn't a hacker exploit. It doesn't require any tools or utilities whatsoever. Microsoft even documented the Registry key. The following describes the Registry key that's involved. Step 1. While running a copy of Windows Vista that hasn't yet been activated, click the Start button, type regedit into the Search box, then press Enter to launch the Registry Editor. Step 2. Explore down to the following Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ SL Step 3. Right-click the Registry key named SkipRearm and click Edit. The default is a Dword (a double word or 4 bytes) with a hex value of 00000000. Change this value to any positive integer, such as 00000001, save the change, and close the Registry Editor. Step 4. Start a command prompt with administrative rights. The fastest way to do this is to click the Start button, enter cmd in the Search box, then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter. If you're asked for a network username and password, provide the ones that log you into your domain. You may be asked to approve a User Account Control prompt and to provide an administrator password. Step 5. Type one of the following two commands and press Enter: slmgr -rearm or rundll32 slc.dll,SLReArmWindows Either command uses Vista's built-in Software Licensing Manager (SLMGR) to push the activation deadline out to 30 days after the command is run. Changing SkipRearm from 0 to 1 allows SLMGR to do this an indefinite number of times. Running either command initializes the value of SkipRearm back to 0. Step 6. Reboot the PC to make the postponement take effect. (After you log in, if you like, you can open a command prompt and run the command slmgr -xpr to see Vista's new expiration date and time. Step 7. To extend the activation deadline of Vista indefinitely, repeat steps 1 through 6 as necessary. Any crooked PC seller with even the slightest technical skill could easily install a command file that would carry out steps 1 through 6 automatically. The program could run slmgr -rearm three times, 30 days apart, to postpone Vista's activation deadline to 120 days. It could then run skip -rearm every 30 days, for a period of months if not years, by first resetting the SkipRearm key. The program could be scheduled to check Vista's activation deadline during every reboot, and to remind the user to reboot once a month if a deadline was nearing. The buyer of such a PC would never even see an activation reminder, much less be required to go through the activation process. If you happen to buy a Vista PC from a little-known seller, and the price was too good to be true, use Vista's search function to look for the string SkipRearm in files. You may discover that your "bargain" computer will mysteriously start demanding activation in a year or two — but your product key won't be valid. Why does SkipRearm even exist in Vista? The Vista development teaam apparently inserted the SkipRearm loophole to help major corporations work around Microsoft's new Volume Licensing Agreement. This new program, which the Redmond company calls "Volume Licensing 2.0," requires buyers to set up a Key Management Service (KMS) host, as described by a Microsoft FAQ. Companies must choose from two types of digital keys and three different methods of activation to validate thousands of individual Vista machines within the corporate LAN . Activation of Windows XP , by comparison, requires merely that volume purchasers use a single product key. Corporate buyers obtain a unique key when signing a Volume Licensing Agreement. Microsoft has said, however, that most Windows XP piracy involves stolen product keys that are used by others to activate unauthorized machines. The new KMS requirement is intended to discourage such piracy, but it places a heavy burden on corporate IT administrators. For example, Microsoft provides a tool called System Preparation (sysprep.exe) to prepare Vista machines for use. If a system can't be completely prepped within 30 days after installation, an admin can run the command sysprep /generalize to postpone the activation deadline another 30 days. However, like the slmgr -rearm command, sysprep /generalize will only succeed three times. To work around this "Microsoft recommends that you use the SkipRearm setting if you plan on running Sysprep multiple times on a computer." This is echoed by Microsoft Knowledge Base article 929828. |
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