Can I repair 2 PCs with 1 OEM XP CD

I have 2 PCs. The first 1 uses an OEM XP CD, slipstreamed with SP2. It repairs just fine.
The second 1 has no XP CD. It uses a restore partition for repair. It causes a reinstall of most apps. I have 8 CDs from compaq. They blow away everything then install XP and lot of junk. That is worst than restore. Both PCs are Compaq, but about 5 years apart. Number 1 is the oldest, and came with 98SE, then changed by me to XP. Can I use the slipstreamed CD to repair number 2, if I put in the product key for Number 2. If I can bootup, I can go to Start, Run, C:\Windows\I386\winnt32.exe /unattend and do a repair. No bootup, I must go another way. That is when I would like to use the CD.

 

Hi

I thk you can use this CD to reinstall the XP.

 

The Compaq with the restore partition has an option to restore just the Windows portion of the OS without affecting the other installed software or other files. You will not see this option until you start to do a full restore. I did this on a nephews computer that was infected with virus's and it worked. I have to admit that some of the installed software may not work, but all of the data files were left intact and some of the software did work. I would certainly try this option before doing a complete reinstall. Good luck.

 

Thanks for your replies! The restore partition does not do a full install. It appears that any application that places something in the registry has to be reinstalled. Data files are left intact. I will try the slipstreamed CD. It just repairs and leaves everything intact. I hope I never need it. Just my luck, or doing something dumb that I may have to. Thanks again.

 

Hi wahlroot,

To answer your question: Can I repair 2 PCs with 1 OEM XP CD the answer is yes, you can use any XP (with the appropriate SP) CD to repair any XP installation.

Regards - Charles

 

Thanks Charles. I hope I never need it again, but it is good to know it will work.

 

i use my cd to repair 3 computers on average 3 or 4 times a year, as long as i upgrade all is ok, but if you do a new full install more than 3 times like i did i had to speak to microsoft on the phone as i could only register 3 times max.

 

I do not want to do a full install with XP SP2 CDs, just repair. I have the restore partition, and the 8 CDs for full install.