If you have the windows XP key (usually on a sticker on the case somewhere) and can check what it is... - and note if it says OEM as part of the characters given. If so then you can download an ISO for an OEM, burn it to to cd/dvd (XP will usually fit on a cd) and then use 'your' OEM key to install it. If you go for the ISO get the version that has sp-3 included.
Windows XP bootable recovery disk. It is quite important to have a recovery disk for Windows XP users. In any instance that your Windows declines to boot up properly, you can use your recovery instead to boot up your hard disk to solve the problem on your computer. Download this iso and burn it to a CD/DVD/USB. It's the Windows XP Recovery Console that's included in the XP installation CD and should work the same.
If (and unlikely in this case) the installation is a retail version then you download a retail version of the ISO; burn to a cd/dvd and boot up with that - using 'your' key for the installation. If 'your' key doesn't have OEM included within it, then it's a fair be that yoi=u have a retail installation; but that is highly unlikely.
Again go for the sp-3 version.
The ISO can be download - for free - at the site posted by riider (#9) in this CN post:
What I'm not sure about is whether or not the versions of XP offered there are retail or OEM. Usually you cannot use an OEM key with a retail disk and visa versa...
But first have a browse at these two (hp) links; the second discusses which key to press for a recovery partition approach i depends on which OS version etc.you may have...; and also ordering the disk set. The first (and top of the list) may be of general interest too; and includes the actual hp link to the second site I've posted below.
http://tinyurl.com/phg75nd
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I do not recall in recent memory any XP issue I could not resolve with one or the other.
The Microsoft Support Engineers either don't know how to do this or are prohibited - I think because there is not a Microsoft KB article about it. If you are a SE and making a post, you better include a Microsoft KB article in it somewhere or it doesn't count. I think they just don't know how...
You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file and burning it to a CD.
The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:
xp_rec_con.iso
Download the ISO file from here:
<Link removed>
Use a new CD and this free and easy program to burn your ISO file and create your bootable CD:
Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:
It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on a computer that is working.
You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.
When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:
Press any key to boot from CD...
The Windows Setup... will proceed.
Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.
Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:WINDOWS)
You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).
You should be in the C:WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the
C:WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.
The Recovery Console allows basic file commands like: copy, rename, replace, delete, cd, chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.
For a list of Recovery Console commands, enter help at the prompt or read about the XP Recovery Console here:
Make yourself a Hiren's BootCD which you can download from here:
http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/The ZIP file is large, so the download will probably take a little while to complete. Then unzip the download to extract the Hirens.BootCD.ISO file that will be used to create your new bootable CD.
Creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file is not the same as just copying the .ISO file to a blank CD. You have to use software that understands how to burn a .ISO file to a CD to create a bootable CD.
In the Hiren's ZIP file are the BurnToCD.cmd file that you can double click to launch it. The BurnToCD.cmd will use the extracted BurnCDCC.exe file to burn the .ISO file to a blank CD using your existing CD burner. You can also use your own CD burning software as long as your software is capable of creating a bootable CD from a .ISO file. Most modern CD burning programs can create bootable CDs from an .ISO image. Creating a bootable CD from an ISO image is not the same as just burning the file to a CD.
If you need a free and easy CD burning software package, here is a popular free program:
http://www.imgburn.com/
Here are some instructions for ImgBurn:
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http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=61It would be a good idea to test your new bootable CD on a computer that is working.
You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it, you will have to reboot the system again.
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When booting on the Hiren's CD you will see a menu of options. Choose the Mini XP option. Then it will appear that Windows is being loaded and you will be presented with a desktop that has the look and feel of the Windows Explorer interface you are already used to using.
Using the Mini XP, you can access the Internet, maneuver around your system, search for files, copy files, replace files, run various scans for malicious software, edit text files (like the c:boot.ini) etc.
There are dozens of free and useful tools included in the CD that can be used to repair your system or copy your important personal files to another device (like a USB device or external drive) in the event that you just give up and decide to reinstall your XP (hopefully you willWindows Xp Professional Recovery Disk Iso Download Free
not make that decision).