Windows Product Activation or WPA is a license validation procedure introduced by Microsoft Corporation in all versions of it’s Windows operating system.
WPA was first introduced in Windows XP and also in
![[Image: j0OwI.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/j0OwI.jpg)
![[Image: shkhS.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/shkhS.jpg)
This works with two ID's and they are
This Installation ID is a 50-digit number which is derived from the following two data.
1. Product ID:
It is actually derived from the 25-digit product key (the alphanumeric value that is printed on the sticker over the Windows CD/DVD case) that is entered during the installation of the operating system.
The Product ID is used to uniquely identify your copy of Windows.
2. Hardware ID :
This value is derived based on the hardware configuration of your computer.
The WPA system checks the following 10 categories of the computer hardware to derive the Hardware ID:
WPA was first introduced in Windows XP and also in
- Windows Server 2003,
- Windows Vista,
- Windows Server 2008,
- Windows 7,
- Windows 8.
![[Image: j0OwI.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/j0OwI.jpg)
![[Image: shkhS.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/shkhS.jpg)
This works with two ID's and they are
- Activation ID
- Installation ID
This Installation ID is a 50-digit number which is derived from the following two data.
1. Product ID:
It is actually derived from the 25-digit product key (the alphanumeric value that is printed on the sticker over the Windows CD/DVD case) that is entered during the installation of the operating system.
The Product ID is used to uniquely identify your copy of Windows.
2. Hardware ID :
This value is derived based on the hardware configuration of your computer.
The WPA system checks the following 10 categories of the computer hardware to derive the Hardware ID:
- Display Adapter
- SCSI Adapter
- IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
- Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address
- RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
- Processor Type
- Processor Serial Number
- Hard Drive Device
- Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
- CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM