The activation process generally involves several manual steps to register the software locally:

Tricking the software into believing it has been authorized by a legitimate server. Technical and Ethical Considerations

a section on the legal implications of using modified diagnostic software?

If your PC doesn't "see" the VCI, you likely need to manually update the drivers in Windows Device Manager using the "Drivers" folder inside the Delphi installation directory.

when asked to save a new file, and instead load the newly activated FileActivation.xml from your desktop. Configuration Driver Installation