How to obtain Windows XP Setup CD?

DonnyDave

I have a laptop and it appears that the hard drive has had it. I am considering a new hard drive, but require a copy of Windows XP to put on it.

The laptop is a Patriot 3005 from PC World. The Windows CoA says "Windows XP Home Edition DSG Retail Ltd" (DSG Retail being the company behind PC World).

There is therefore a product key and licence for Windows XP Home Edition on this particular machine. So how can I obtain a setup CD to install it on a new hard drive?

I was interested to read this posting on DSLReports.com about creating your own setup CD from the i386 folder. Does it have to be created from files in the i386 folder on the machine to which it is going to be used? Or is it simply a case of having a licence for every PC that it is used on?


Description of the problem

I tried starting it in Safe Mode with Command Prompt and use System Restore by following the instructions in the MSKB article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304449/

It came up with a message saying that framedyn.dll was not found, as in this article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319114

This file is definately there in the Wbem folder and the PATH variable is definately set as described in the above KB article (319114).

I tried copying the one from the dllcache folder to the Wbem folder using the old-fashioned DOS "copy" command and was unsuccessful due to a cyclic redundancy check error.

I then tried running "chkdsk" and it came up with similar errors, saying that it couldn't find certain files required to run it.

Donnie

Check your Private Messages.

DominicQuick

Is there a license key on the machine?

If so i would download a copy and then enter the license key in your machine. This is legal as you have the license attached to your machine

Dom