With the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) Bypass tool designed for original equipment manufacturers, The Redmond Company is taking down its own antipiracy software. This has been proven necessary due to the interaction model between the system builder and the end user. This interaction does not imply the activation of the operating system. But it does imply the pre-patching of the system with the latest updates from the Redmond Company. As updating requires Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation, which in its turn demands mandatory activation, Microsoft is providing the bypass tool to resolve the issue.

Via the System Builder Bypass tool (sbbypass.exe), a system can be updated without activation or validation. The tool can be downloaded from the OEM system builder site, but you have to be a member. The bypass tool is designed for integration with Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition, Windows XP Home Edition, XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Tablet Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2003, Web Edition and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition.

Sysprep is necessary for running the System Builder Bypass tool (sbbypass.exe) in factory mode in order to update one of the Microsoft products mentioned above.