Richard,
I feel your pain, and still feel it from time to time...
try http://www.bittorrent.com/
But first, I would suggest to wait a day or 2 and find some angle that you
would "need" to call him, and tactfully ask him if he JUST MIGHT have
found
the disks somewhere. Too many times have I wasted my own time worrying
about finding the right disk, the right 25 character code, etc., only to
return the computer to the customer who smiles waving the bag of disks,
and
says, "look what I just found!". And, if it's an OEM edition and if he
find
it, you just saved yourself a decent chunk of time, as you won't need to
worry about anything that I've penned below this.
Second of all, if it's XP Pro, you'll need an XP Pro disk, if it's Home
Edition, you'll need a Home Edition disk.
Third of all, if the label states "Windows XP" without stating "Service
Pack
2", you're better off finding an XP disk that is not Service Pack 2; if
it's
Service Pack two, the opposite applies. I believe (but I'm not sure) that
you can install XP sans SP2 on a machine with an SP2 tag, but not vice
versa.
Yes, this can be some confusing ****.
And, last but not least, even if you do have the best disk, and if the
installation "takes" the 25 character code, you may get shot down when you
get online and go to activate the installed OS. In that case, you'll need
to contact Microsoft; follow the prompts, and they will issue you ANOTHER
code. Enter that code; it probably will NOT take, either. Then, you'll
need to speak to a rep; I've NEVER been shot down by a rep. But, while
they
generate the new code, they will have a list of questions to ask you while
it's being generated. Some of the questions may include, "Where was the
computer purchased?", "On how many systems is the software installed?"
(duh,
the answer to that one has to be "One").
*If worse comes to worse, and if you can't find the appropriate disk,
email
me privately and I can PROBABLY send you what you need, though I'm flat
broke and will ask for package and postage reimbursement.
Best wishes, let us know how you make out with this,
smackedass
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