WinXP require registration

[freewind]

Hello All.
I'm using VirtualBox 2.1.2 and licenced WinXP as guest. Then I'am move my VDI file to another computer, with latest VirtualBOX, I create new VM with old VDI file and after loading my WinXP display - the hardware configuration change, need to activation. I'm download 2.1.2 release install it, create VM with my VDI file copied from another computer, but problem not resolve - windows need to activation. Why? I don't want to reactivate my WinXP.

[Perryg]

AFAIK if you moved the original VDI file and used it on another system Windows tags it as needing validation. Moving it back will not change this and it will still need to be validated again. It's a Windows thing.

[vbox4me2]

In this case its a MAC thing, make sure its the same on both ends.

[mpack]

If you still have a copy of the same VDI on the old computer then you can revert to that copy. However, before running this VDI, you will need to fix the differences in your VM settings, i.e. make them identical to the old VM settings - changes in settings is probably what led XP to think it was running on different hardware in the first place. Understandably, the exact checks that XP performs are only vaguely understood, but prime candidates are CPU type (which you can do nothing about), and network card MAC address.

[freewind]

Yes, I have Intel and AMD CPU ?? my computers.
Thank you.

[mpack]

Yes, I have Intel and AMD CPU ?? my computers

XP generally requires multiple hardware changes before it concludes that it's now running on a different PC. Also, certain kinds of hardware change carry a higher "weight". I believe MAC address carries a high weight, so it's best to make sure MAC address does not change. Motherboard (DMI) information also carries high weight, but this tends only to be relevant when doing a P2V migration (and even then only if you are trying to defeat the activation check). Most DMI info doesn't change when you move a VDI to a different host PC, one exception may be that VM UUID - which might (I have not confirmed this) be passed to the guest as a DMI string.

I would expect a CPU change to carry high weight, and if MAC address and the DMI string change as well this is almost guaranteeed to provoke reactivation. Does preserving the MAC address alone prevent the problem? ... I'm not sure, so why not try it and tell us?