Re-installing XP on a Compaq PC

Soldato
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Hi all, hoping you can help me out. I need to re-install XP on my Mum's old Compaq PC, but the recovery discs have disappeared and the recovery partition on the HDD is completely blank. According to the Compaq website, replacement discs are £23 or so, which is ridiculous for a PC which isn't worth much more.

Would it be at all possible/allowed to use my step-dad's XP SP2 disc (which is already in use on his PC), install it onto the Compaq, and change the product key to the Compaq one? To clarify, the Compaq came with XP, but it was pre-SP1. Would this method actually work? The last thing I want to do is make my step-dad's PC stop working because MS think the same copy is on two PCs.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.
 
Hi there

As long as you have the oem version of Xp and the same version of it (pro, home etc...) then you should be ok, I also have a compaq and it has worked ok for me.

I'd wait for a 2nd opinion though
 
the service pack level of the disk doesn't matter. that doesn't change anything.

if it's a retail disk then you have no chance. :(

if it's oem it may work. you can actually test this by inserting the decent cd you have and running setup from within a working windows. one of the first things you have to do is enter the (compaq) product key so you can test this out without destroying anything.
 
marc2003 said:
the service pack level of the disk doesn't matter. that doesn't change anything.
although - you may have to phone up to have it activated - which isn't a problem, as the license key is what you pay for, essentially - and that will only be on one machine.

(I've had a computer fail the online activation because I slipstreamed sp2 into the install disk - or at least that's what I assume the reason is... the os has been reinstalled once in it's lifetime and no hardware changes have been made!)
 
=walls= said:
although - you may have to phone up to have it activated - which isn't a problem, as the license key is what you pay for, essentially - and that will only be on one machine.

Actually, you pay for the license, which is a subtle but important difference from license key which is only a technological means to use the product.

burnsy
 
The Compaq came with XP Home, the OEM disc my step-dad has for his own PC is also XP Home (SP2).

Will pop the disc in and give it a try.
 
Just an update: It worked! Used the XP SP2 OEM disc I mentioned before, entered the product key from the label on the Compaq machine itself, and just activated Windows; no problems at all. Just got (at least) 79 updates to download and install now!

Thanks for the help everyone, hope this info also proves useful to someone else. :)
 
burnsy2023 said:
Actually, you pay for the license, which is a subtle but important difference from license key which is only a technological means to use the product.

burnsy
Now that's just being pedantic ;)
 
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