By: Daniel Petri

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 \SETUP\I386 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

[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

note: Use your own CD key, the above string is just an example!

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!