I Have A Valid WinXP Serial But Now Have No Install CD... How Can I Install Windows?

Question

Unfortunately, my Windows XP computer went awry, and I was forced to reinstall. However, infuriatingly, it was at this very point that my old DVD drive decided to shatter my XP disc into pieces! I've been and bought a reliable external DVD drive, but am loath to spend money on a new XP serial simply to get my hands on a disc. Is there any way I can get such a disc?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Have you considered 'imaging' your hard drive?

Basically, what imaging does is create a clone of your current hard drive -- OS, programs and all.

This is useful because if your hard drive goes kaput, or if you want to upgrade to a better hard drive, you can simply restore the image back to the way it was when you first created it.

See LH's post on EASUS Disk Copy: (freeware, multiplatform)

http://lifehacker.com/400615/easeus-disk...

Answer 2

download an iso of the disk and burn it onto disk

then it will be just lyk the real thing

Answer 3

lol, Just download it, sure its a little illegal, but u still have a genuine key.

Answer 4

Ask friends and people you know that have a disc. If that doesn't work, the only other way to get a disc is to download one from a website somewhere, try googling it.

Answer 5

Contact Microsoft. If you provide them with your serial number as proof of purchase, I'm sure they will send you a new CD for a small fee.

Answer 6

If you had a retail copy of XP you can borrow a retail copy from a friend and use your XP serial to complete the installation. I'm not sure if OEM copies will work as well- i suspect it does. If your serial is for XP home you will need a copy of XP home to perform the install. It's difficult to buy valid copies of XP at the moment because MS has discontinued support for it.

If you do get your hands on a copy of the XP CD you will have to configure your system to boot from the external drive. You will have to make adjustments to the Boot sequence setting in your computer's BIOS. It's not difficult.

But if you can't manage to get your hands on XP you could try installing a Linux operating system of your choice . e.g. Ubuntu Linux

http://www.ubuntu.com/

At least with ubuntu installed you will be able to use the PC online and do all the basic things you did using XP while you sort out what you want to do next. Having used Ubuntu for a while now, I'm finding that it makes far more sense to have two operating systems instead of just one. I have Ubuntu and XP on this and another PC - if my XP installation kicks the bucket i can still access the internet to troubleshoot it using the same PC. If there's a virus making the rounds on windows, i can use the internet using Firefox or Opera browsers running on Ubuntu to protect my windows installation. Hope you get your PC up and running.