[dcbarry]

Hi all:

There is supposed to be a new feature in XP SP3 to allow 30 days grace before being required to enter a product key, similar to Vista and Server 2003 R2+.

This is delayed Product Key entry, not activation. See here for details: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=3390


I created a slipstreamed SP3 CD via using MSDN XP Pro GM (which is the equivalent of retail) and applying the XP SP3 RC2 Refresh published a few days ago. (It's real and genuine -- its from my MSDN Universal days).

However, this did not work. I was mandated to enter a key. I Did observe that I had the modified PK entry dialog box, in that most the text had been moved up. It's just that the last tagline "Entering your product key now is optional, but..." was not present.


(I also tried to change the PID to end with OEM. still did not work.)

Just wondering if they are pullling this feature after all. Would be a bummer, as my unattended installs would go much smoother if the PK could be entered later.


Has anyone else built an XP SP3 slipstream in which this worked. If so, did you use a different recipe, or a "true" OEM CD.

Thanks,

dcbarry