Problems Installing Windows XP (Student)

I am currently using Parallels Desktop 3.0 (Build 5600) and am trying to install a Windows XP (+SP2) VM. I'm using a copy of XP that I have downloaded off of my university's website... it has a student license and it does not come with a cd-key. The following note was included in an email after downloading the ISO:

Important Note: This software's installer encodes the product key and
it is only valid for 5-days. It is important to complete this
installation in a timely manner. Please note if you are launching the
installer manually and not booting from CD that you must launch it via
the batch file in the top-level folder of the distribution.

The problem is that I am prompted to enter a cd-key when I attempt to install a Windows XP VM using the ISO file I am provided with legally through my university. I am stuck as I do not have said cd-key. The batch file that is included in the top-level folder contains the following:

@rem SetupMgrTag
@echo off
set AnswerFile=.\i386\unattend.txt
set SetupFiles=.\i386
.\i386\winnt32 /s:%SetupFiles% /unattend:%AnswerFile%
exit

So I know that this "unattend.txt" file contains the encrypted cd-key. However, I'm not sure exactly why this isn't working... perhaps Parallels needs to be pointed more specifically to this batch file, rather than the ISO as a whole. I don't know if that's possible... well, does anyone have an idea?

 

Try to use custom installation as described in on Parallels Desktop for Mac user guide from http://www.parallels.com/en/download/file/doc/Parallels_Desktop_for_Mac_User_Guide.pdf page 67

 

Thanks for your reply, but I tried this already... no luck. It sounds like the default setup file that is run by Parallels when the ISO is loaded is not the correct one, and thus the install does not recognize that a password shouldn't be requested. So maybe it's just that Parallels does not pick the "autorun" executable but rather the default Windows XP one. Something like that at least. Still looking for a solution... hopefully I'll find one before my 5 days run out.

 

Only password can be encrypted as far as I know in unattended.txt, not key.
If you look in unattended.txt you can see 25 digit combination,
You can use them

 

I've looked already - it is encrypted. It's not simply a key in the XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX form, but rather a longer chain of letters, numbers, and "/".

 

Well, I found encryption process
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...9390-5203cd43d07d/WPA_SP1_Market_Bulletin.doc
But it should simply work when booting from CD
Try to install when floppy is disconnected from VM

 

It seems to be working now... very strange. I tried doing a custom install again and this time it's working for me. No idea why, but whew!

Thanks again for your help.

 

Same problem here...

Hi, I'm having the exact same problem (Parallels Desktop 4.0 requires product key for Windows XP SP3 campus license). The difference is that my unattend.txt file *does* show a 25-digit product key, but when I type it in (which I shouldn't have to do on a normal installation), the product key is not accepted.

Any news on this matter since mooneyquarks last post over a year ago?

John@Parallels: why did you suggest a custom intstall? Which "knobs" should I turn on or off?