When you re-install Windows from scratch, you will need to reactivate it. Here is an interesting info I found on another board:

Also, you should make sure to copy the file "wpa.dbl" in the
\Windows\System32 directory -- that is the file that contains the
"Windows Product Activation" info for the system.  By copying that file,
if Windows ever needs to be reinstalled in the future, you should be
able to copy that file back and avoid having to re-activate Windows.

Rama  :)

very cool, especially if it helps avoid-re-activation.

A negative opinion..

http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm


Quote:

HINT No. 3: It is valuable to back up the two files WPA.DBL and WPA.BAK from the Windows\System32 folder.Then, should they get damaged, or should you do a ‘Repair’ reinstallation of Win XP, these files can be copied back to restore the prior activation status. However, this only works in those limited circumstances. The contents of these two files is matched to the specific Windows setup; therefore, contrary to what many journalists and members of the user community have written in recent months, restoring these files will not restore your activation status following a reformat and clean install.

And.....

Set the Online Registration as Being Completed
Set Windows-XP to assume the online registration has been completed.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \WindowsNT \ CurrentVersion
Edit the String Value called RegDone and Give it a value of 1


Just a thought! ;)

The Shadow  8-)