Microsoft KB Archive/943310

= How to re-provision a computer that is running Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers or Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers =

Article ID: 943310

Article Last Modified on 11/20/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers
 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers

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INTRODUCTION
This article describes how to re-provision a prepaid computer or a subscription computer for the following Windows operating systems:
 * Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers
 * Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers

Note In this article, a computer that is running Windows XP Home Edition for Prepaid Computers is known as a &quot;prepaid computer.&quot; A computer that is running Windows XP Home Edition for Subscription Computers is known as a &quot;subscription computer.&quot;



MORE INFORMATION
A prepaid computer or a subscription computer that uses a CPU-based or a BIOS-based hardware-enforced operating system may be resold or redistributed. In this case, the new customer must re-provision the computer to prepare it for use. Re-provisioning is a process that resets the balance computer usage time. And, re-provisioning generates a new computer ID or a new hardware ID (HWID). Microsoft provides the LPMTool.exe re-provisioning tool in the operating system to let you run the re-provisioning process on the computer.

Note The re-provisioning process must be completed separately for each computer that will be re-provisioned.

To obtain the re-provisioning file from Microsoft and to complete the re-provisioning process for a prepaid computer or for a subscription computer, perform the following procedures.

Note You must contact the solution provider and ask a customer service representative (CSR) to complete certain steps in the following procedures.

Procedure 1: Obtain the re-provisioning file for the computer from Microsoft
 Start the computer that is to be re-provisioned.

Note If you cannot start the computer, use the recovery CD to reinstall the operating system. Then, start the computer.  Obtain the computer ID and the Partner Code or the Unique Program ID (UPID) from the computer.

For a prepaid computer
 In the notification area, right-click the metering bar for the computer usage time, and then click View Prepaid Computer Status. Click the Support tab to view the computer ID and the Partner Code or the UPID.

For a subscription computer
 In the notification area, right-click the subscription icon, and then click View Subscription Computer Status. Click the Support tab to view the computer ID and the Partner Code or the UPID.</li></ol>

Note You can also view the computer ID and the Partner Code or the UPID at a command prompt for a prepaid computer or for a subscription computer. To do this, type LPMTool –c at a command prompt, and then press ENTER. </li> Send the following information to the Microsoft FlexGo Product Group support at winppsup@microsoft.com: <ul> Your name</li> Your company name</li> The Computer ID of the computer that is to be re-provisioned</li> The Partner Code or the UPID of the computer that is to be re-provisioned</li> The reason for re-provisioning the computer</li></ul> </li></ol>

After you complete this procedure, Microsoft will send you the file that contains the re-provisioning data that you must to use to re-provision the computer.

Procedure 2: Run the LPMTool.exe re-provisioning tool on the computer
 Copy the re-provisioning file that you received from Microsoft to a network shared folder or to a universal serial bus (USB) drive.</li> Start the computer that is to be re-provisioned.</li> After the computer starts, type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER to re-provision the computer:

LPMTool -r :\

Note In the command in step 3, the  placeholder specifies the letter of the drive where the file is located. The  placeholder specifies the name of the file that you copied to the drive. For example, type the following command at a command prompt to re-provision the computer, and then press ENTER:

LPMTool -r E:\lpmdata.img

</li> After you run the command in step 3, the computer prompts you for a mandatory restart of the computer within 30 seconds. Let the computer restart.

Notes <ul> When the computer is re-provisioned, the computer will start to meter computer usage time as soon as the computer restarts. Make sure that the computer runs as little as possible after the computer restarts.</li> You can also use an alternative procedure to re-provision a computer that uses a BIOS-based hardware-enforced operating system. This alternative procedure lets you re-provision the computer without using any computer usage time. To use this alternative procedure, follow these steps:  Use the recovery CD to reinstall the operating system.</li> Use the LPMToolSuite tool on the Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) provisioning CD to re-provision the Lower Provisioning Module (LPM).</li></ol> </li></ul> </li></ol>

Procedure 3: Verify the results of the re-provisioning process on the computer

 * 1) To check the LPM configuration of the computer, type LPMTool –c at a command prompt, and then press ENTER.

Note The computer ID is changed from its earlier value.
 * 1) To verify that the computer usage time value is reset to the initial time balance, type LPMTool –b at a command prompt, and then press ENTER.

Note The computer usage time value is reset to the initial time balance that is provided in the LPM configuration data.
 * 1) Use the recovery CD to reinstall the operating system so that the computer is ready for resale or for redistribution.
 * 2) Shut down the computer.

Procedure 4: Inform the solution provider company about the re-provisioned computer
<ol> <li>Contact the CSR at the solution provider company to inform the CSR that you have re-provisioned a hardware-enforced computer that the company owns.</li> <li>Provide the product key of the computer to the CSR. To find the product key, look for the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) on the side of the computer case for the computer that is re-provisioned. The COA is displayed on a sticker together with the product key.</li> <li>The CSR now has to complete two separate transactions for the computer: <ul> <li>Retire transaction: This transaction removes the computer’s history from the database.</li> <li>Reregister transaction: This transaction creates a new record of the computer in the database.</li></ul>

Note After these transactions are completed, the computer can be successfully activated in the future.</li></ol>

After you complete the procedures that are mentioned in this article, the computer is re-provisioned, and the balance computer usage time is reset to the initial time balance.

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