Need to do repair, can't find CD

[Guest]

A friend has an XP Pro system on the fritz needing to run repair (it won't
boot -- needs to reinstall hal.dll, etc.) and he can't find his CD nor his
box. Perhaps it was stolen. He doesn't know where it went.

Any suggestions other than "buy another copy for hundreds of dollars"?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

A friend has an XP Pro system on the fritz needing to run repair
(it won't boot -- needs to reinstall hal.dll, etc.) and he can't
find his CD nor his box. Perhaps it was stolen. He doesn't know
where it went.

Any suggestions other than "buy another copy for hundreds of
dollars"?

Borrow a copy from a friend - if it is the same type and version
(OEM/retail/upgrade/etc and Windows XP Home/Pro/Media Center/etc) - it
should work fine to do a repair install. Have your friend backup their
really important stuff (documents, spreadsheets, pictures, emails, contacts,
favorites, etc) first as well as run Belarc Advisor (print out the results)
and Magic Jelly Bean Key Finder to be sure they know their computer specs
and serial numbers.

 

[Guest]

Ask DELL - If the Computer was purchased from Dell, And provided, Its STILL
within the CONTRACT PERIOD .... DELL will send the CD.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

A friend has an XP Pro system on the fritz needing to run repair
(it won't boot -- needs to reinstall hal.dll, etc.) and he can't
find his CD nor his box. Perhaps it was stolen. He doesn't know
where it went.

Any suggestions other than "buy another copy for hundreds of
dollars"?

Borrow a copy from a friend - if it is the same type and version
(OEM/retail/upgrade/etc and Windows XP Home/Pro/Media Center/etc)
- it should work fine to do a repair install. Have your friend
backup their really important stuff (documents, spreadsheets,
pictures, emails, contacts, favorites, etc) first as well as run
Belarc Advisor (print out the results) and Magic Jelly Bean Key
Finder to be sure they know their computer specs and serial
numbers.

Ask DELL - If the Computer was purchased from Dell, And provided,
Its STILL within the CONTRACT PERIOD .... DELL will send the CD.

Although a perfectly valid suggestion - had the OP mentioned "Dell" anywhere
in their posting - I do have to wonder if I missed that mentioning?