Emulate a Dell BIOS

[fros...@gmail.com]

I'm trying to use VMWare to create an image for a batch of Dell
OptiPlex PCs I have in my company.

I have the Dell Windows XP Pro CD, but when installing in a VMWare
session it wants me to activate the copy. When I install the same CD on
an OptiPlex, the activation is already taken care of.

I assume this is due to the BIOS differences, within the VMWare
environment it cannot detect the system as an OptiPlex.

Is there anyway with either 4.x or 5.x of VMWare Workstation to emulate
a Dell BIOS?

I can even put VMWare on one of the systems, but I would like to create
the image in a Virutal Machine. The ability to roll back an image
without having to reapply it is quite the time saver.

Thanks,
Frost