We come from the future
ShopSubscribe
We come from the future
Microsoft

Don't Feel Like Activating Vista? It's Cool, Take As Long As You Like

matt-buchanan-old
Matt Buchanan
7
Save
This image was lost some time after publication, but you can still view it here.
This image was lost some time after publication, but you can still view it here.

With a simple registry tweak, you can take that 30-day activation deadline and shove it—possibly forever. According to Brian Livingston, publisher of Windows Secrets, the activation delay hack previously thought to work for 120 days can be reused "indefinitely," though it varies from copy to copy.

Advertisement

The haxx0ring? Change a registry key (SkipRearm) hex value. That's it, but check the article for a full rundown—newer shipped copies of Home seem to have plugged the loophole, so it may only work in other versions shipped after March. Guess they really do want you to pirate Windows.

Microsoft allows bypass of Vista activation [Windows Secrets via /.]

DISCUSSION

zenpoet
zenpoet

I hope I am not the first person to think that crecente and Maddox look a lot alike... Wait a minute, they both love pirates, look the same... only one of them is a New York Times best-seller though. Nah, they must be different people, right?