Windows Whistler activation problem

kgvelkov

Hi,
I found a build of Whistler that was not existent on WinWorlds. I tried to install it on a VM. It installed, but I can't log in.
It gives me this message:

This copy of Windows must be activated with Microsoft before you can log on.
Do you want to activate Windows now?

If I say no, it will log me off. If I say yes, it opens Windows Activation. I have 3 options.
- Yes, let's activate Windows over the Internet now (not working)
- Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows (I tried, it's a pain in the ass, also it probably wouldn't work either)
- No, log me off

Does anyone know if this is bypassable? I would like to test it so I can be confident that I can upload it to WinWords. Thanks in advance

SomeGuy

Welcome to the future of Windows.

Bry89

What build of Whistler is it? And from that message you got, you obviously need a product key for it. However, like all betas, timebombs exist.

kgvelkov

It's whistler build 2532. I already gave it a product key but it asks for activation, and apparently it doesn't want to connect to the activation servers (probably because the date is something 2001). And yes, I know about the timebomb

sl1fka

Try using AntiWPA. I'm not telling you where to find it because it's technically illegal because it can be used to activate released versions of XP also.

Or, use a secondary system (like an old laptop or something) and set the date in the BIOS to sometime in 2000/early 2001.

02k-guy

Microsoft had very narrow date ranges for timebombs.

If all you want to do is verify the install functions, then the BIOS date has to be set accordingly.

Beter said here:

https://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36582

Just look at the build tag's date stamp on the iso filename (or failing that, with reshack in setup.exe):
5.1.2464.0.main.010405-1517_x86fre_server-standardserver_retail_en-us.iso

The bios date is 1 day after the build date, so in this case, you'd use 6th of April 2001 as the date.

I know that may of us will not find these even as ISO files, let alone with original MS names.

Use Reshack, Restorator, PE Explorer - anything to let you get at the manifest.

kgvelkov

sl1fka wrote:

Try using AntiWPA. I'm not telling you where to find it because it's technically illegal because it can be used to activate released versions of XP also.

Or, use a secondary system (like an old laptop or something) and set the date in the BIOS to sometime in 2000/early 2001.

How'd I load AntiWPA in the VM? USB drives don't seem to work in Safe Mode and the browser is probably not going to work correctly due to its age

sl1fka

Install the VirtualBox guest additions or VMware Tools (whatever you're using) in your Whistler VM, then set up Shared Folders. If you're using VirtualBox you just have to go to the machine's settings and click Shared Folders (it's at the bottom), set your shared folder to your C:\ and tick all of the three boxes read only, auto mount, etc. Don't turn on the VM yet.

When that's done, download AntiWPA on your computer, extract it from the RAR or ZIP or whatever it comes in (mine came in a 7zip file) to your desktop or something. Boot up the VM into Safe Mode, open My Computer, you should see your C drive mapped as a network drive. Click it, go to your desktop, and copy the AntiWPA file to the VM. Run it. Done

If for some reason you can't get the guest additions, then use PowerISO or something and make an ISO file containing AntiWPA and then mount that in the VM, drag it out, run it, etc.

AwesomeWindowsTV

XP betas, they want you not to use 'em, so safe mode is required to boot into build 2532.