Re-installing XP on a Compaq PC

[TheVoice]

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.

 

[TheVoice]

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.

 

[TheVoice]

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.