Windows XP offline number counter xp_activate32.exe is only 18KB in size

Microsoft released Windows XP in 2001, but Windows XP has already ended its support. At present, very few users still use this ancient operating system, but even so, there are still very few users or enterprises using Windows XP, so activation has become a small problem.

There are many third-party tools available on the Internet or modifying Windows XP itself for activation, but these are not offline activation, that is, they can only be activated after networking.

Until January 2022 On Reddit, a netizen still needs to use Windows XP, but does not want to use third-party software with security risks, so based on the open source project on GitHub, he created an activation tool that runs completely offline.

This activation tool is essentially a number counter, which is based on the open source WindowsXPKg. This open source project "cracked" Microsoft's algorithm using an upstream public paper.

Basic working principle:

We know that the Windows system will generate a unique ID after installation, which is used to interact with the phone activation system. Enter this ID and verify it, and the Microsoft phone system will return the corresponding activation ID.

Windows XPKg provides a website. After entering the ID, you can return the phone activation ID, and then enter the phone activation ID to activate the system.

The xp_activate32.exe activation tool released by Reddit users does not depend on the website. The tool does not need to be connected to the Internet when it is used locally. After entering the ID, it can also return the phone activation ID to activate the system.

So far, Windows XP can be activated completely without relying on the network/Microsoft server. This is good news for Windows XP machines that have been used in the intranet offline environment for a long time. After all, even if you want to buy a genuine KEY from Microsoft, you can't buy XP now.

It should be noted that Windows XP cannot be connected to the Internet in many places due to the built-in certificate problem. However, the community still provides a solution: a file that can update the certificate offline. After running the file, you can update the built-in certificate of Windows XP offline. After updating, you can restore the network connection.

As for the problem that many browsers do not support Windows XP, users can only find browsers that still support Windows XP, or older versions such as Chrome/Firefox.

Additional links:

1. Thesis on signing product key with Microsoft private key: https://www.licenturion.com/xp/fully-licensed-wpa.txt

2. Open source Windows XPKg project: https://github.com/TheMCHK/WindowsXPKg