Change XP Serial Number

So, there are a lot of posts out there on various ways to do this, but I have found this method to be the easiest and most successful.

1. Click Start > Run
2. In the Open box, type regedit and hit enter.
3. Go to the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Cur rent Version\WPAEvents
4. In the right pane, double click OOBETimer, and change the value of any one of the digits (you can change it to whatever you like). You have now just deactivated Windows.
5. Go to Start > Run.
6. In the dialogue box type:
   %systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a
7. Select "Yes, I want to telephone a customer service representative to activate Windows" and then click next.
8. Click "Change Product key".
9. Type in the new product key and then click "Update".
10. If you return to the previous window, click "Remind me later", then restart the computer.
    

Some updates were not installed...

I get this error frequently. Windows Update (WU) will find all available updates for my machine, download them, and attempt to install them, but reports the error: Some updates were not installed. A fix I have stumbled across that has worked every time is to force reinstall WU. The steps are fairly simple.

• Download a WU executable from Microsoft.
• Save the executable to your desktop.
• Open up command prompt (Start > Run > cmd) and cd (change directory) to your desktop.
• cd Desktop (Assuming you are at C:\Documents and Settings\)
• Next type the name of the executable (windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe) followed by the switch /wuforce
• WindowsUpdateAgent30-x86.exe /wuforce
  
• Note: When typing the name of the executable, you can enter a bit of text and then press tab to autocomplete your file name. Example typing windows then pressing tab would give me windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe

That's it. Now just go to Windows Update and it will require you to reinstall WU. After that you should be able to download and install properly. Hope this helps.

Disable the annoying restart prompt after installing Windows Updates

I always get caught working on something and find myself interrupted to install updates. I install and clench my teeth knowing that the notoriously annoying restart prompt will bug me until I finish my work and restart.

Fortunately, there is a fix. Just follow these simple steps to make your update experience a bit less annoying.

• Click Start > Run
• Enter "gpedit.msc"
• Select Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update
• Open "No auto-restart for scheduled Automatic Updates installations"
• Select "Enabled"
• Open "Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations"
• Select "Disabled"
• Now restart for the changes to take effect.

What you just did: Entered local Group Policy and changed Windows Update configurations.

*For more information on Group Policy see Wiki.
*For more information on Group Policy Editor applied locally see Microsoft.
**Original article from 4sysops.