Install Exchange 2000/2003 Without Supplying the CD Key

Daniel Petri

Jan 8, 2009

How can I install Exchange 2000/2003 without supplying the CD key?

You can configure Exchange 2000/2003 to install without having to manually enter the CD key during the setup process.
First, you should copy your Exchange 2000/2003 setup files from your CD to your hard drive.Find a file called Setup.sdb (which is found in the SETUPI386 subfolder). Right click the file, select Properties, and remove the Read-only checkmark. Now open the file to edit it.

Look inside your Setup.sdb file for a section called

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[Product Information]

In that section, look for a line beginning with:

DefaultPid30=

If you cannot find such a line, insert a new empty line somewhere in that section, and paste the new value in the following format:

DefaultPid30=ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO-PQRST-UVWXY

Lamer note: Use your own CD key, the above string is just an example (you wouldn’t believe the number of e-mails people actually send me telling me that the tip doesn’t work…)
Save the file, burn the whole folder that contains the installation files to a CD.
That’s it! Now you can now install Exchange 2000/2003 without needing to supply a CD key during the setup process!