Since all activation confirmation is saved in WPA.DBL file, users can backup and transfer the existing activated WPA.DBL file to automatic activate Windows to activated state if users choose to reload or reinstall Windows XP in fresh clean state. User won’t be able to restore WPA.DBL in System Restore as it’s not included in the backup mechanism.
However, WPA.DBL file is not protected, and if user deletes it, user will have to re-activate Windows XP again. To secure the WPA.DBL file, Microsoft encrypts the file with RC4 algorithm. Windows XP stores the hardware configuration information of the computer at the time of activation, product activation state status, expiration info of the XP installation, and the current hardware specification in WPA.DBL file which located in %SystemRoot%\System32 folder.
