The generation of valid installation keys for Windows XP was made possible with the programme "Windows XP Keygen", which is publicly available on Github. In the next step, however, the installation would also have to be activated, which was a major hurdle: the activation relied on external services for validation and OS installation, which was a challenge as these services were shut down by Microsoft.
Fortunately, a breakthrough was made last year when a reddit user provided a Windows executable file that could be used to generate confirmation ID codes for offline activation. By combining this executable with the aforementioned key generator, users can now activate Windows XP without the Internet or Microsoft's support, without having to resort to cracks.
It is important to note that this article does not encourage the use of Windows XP. The operating system was already not particularly secure in 2001 and should not be used in 2023 either, especially on devices connected to the internet.
If you're just missing the XP pinball machine, we've got good news: The pinball source was reverse-engineered, it's even on linux now. The source code of the first disassembly of the 3D Pinball Space Cadet game is also available on Github.
And in case anyone actually misses XP that much: Full tutorial how to Install Windows XP Professional in UTM for the M1 Mac.