Maybe I’m mis-remembering, but I definitely needed to call to activate XP. I have an MSDN account, so had keys, but definitely needed to call a few times. Its a pretty unforgettable experience. Maybe it was something to do with the msdn keys not being accepted?
But XP never really needed actual activation, it used a key.
So long as you had one valid key you’re good forever.
In my career and private lab, I’ve built literally thousands of machines - never once had to call MS to activate.
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Maybe I’m mis-remembering, but I definitely needed to call to activate XP. I have an MSDN account, so had keys, but definitely needed to call a few times. Its a pretty unforgettable experience. Maybe it was something to do with the msdn keys not being accepted?
You could only activate the same key several times before you had to call.
That could be it, but doesnt make sense for an air-gapped box?
I think it does this even if you’re offline
https://www.reddit.com/r/windowsxp/comments/1czbquy/so_how_do_i_get_past_this_screen/
Maybe its just the default for offline activation of volume licence keys?