All you have to do is hack the registry and set SkipRearm = 1 before you run slmgr – rearm.
#Windows vista activation key bypass install
As a result anyone could install zillions of copies of Vista from just one legitimate product key. Since knowledge of the SkipRearm Vista activation hack has reached the public domain, unscrupulous end users, or even suppliers, could use this to delay activation. In conclusion, changing the registry key to SkipRearm = 1, means don’t use up one of my three lives. Next, let us check the logic of SkipRearm = 0, meaning count one of the 3 lives, and SkipRearm = 1, meaning don’t count one of those lives. If the registry setting is SkipRearm = 0 then you get three goes at running slmgr -rearm. Now here is the tricky bit, I would like to explain the relationship between the registry setting: SkipRearm and the command line: slmgr -rearm. You can legally run Vista’s built-in Software Licence manager to gain a 30 day extension of the grace period for activation. Microsoft, kindly provide a mechanism for techies to re-arm the activation mechanism. Nothing illegal here, just a big corporation installing lots of Vista machines over a period of several months.
The problem is that there could be a considerable delay – longer than 30 days – between installing Vista on the ‘Master’ machine and activating the clones. The SkipRearm registry setting is designed to help large companies, who roll-out Vista with sysprep, or deploy other cloning software. Surprisingly, the source of this registry hack is a TechNet article on Microsoft’s own site. While this registry tweak walks the tightrope between the legal and software piracy, editing the SkipRearm value is not like cloning the product keys. My justification for publishing this Vista Activation Hack is that you cannot suppress knowledge. While I am happy to explain how SkipRearm postpones Vista’s activation, my recommendation is don’t try to cheat the Microsoft’s Licence agreement.