Replacing OEM XP

I just bought a new computer with XP installed. It came with an emergency CD.

I think I would like to re-install XP home from my original CD but I'm concerned about the MS problem. Will I be locked out until some time as they approve and verify that I am really not multi-installing on two computers

 

You could ring them first explaining the situation. They're very amenable.

Oh, don't forget to have all your downloaded updates and drivers ready, especially the MS blaster patch before going on the web.

 

I've done something similar to what you want to do, but I used the recovery CD that came with my OEM desktop to install a plain vanilla version of XP Pro on my IBM laptop (which came with a highly customized XP Pro installation I didn't like).

Because the XP product key is tied to the hardware in the computer, when you contact Microsoft to activate your new XP installation use the product key for the version of XP that came on the computer, not the one for the version you're installing. It's on a sticker which should be somewhere on the computer.

I won't guarantee that this method will work in every case, but it sure worked for me.