help- can't burn files while in safe mode . . . need to reinstall

[jason]

i need to back up some data before i do a reinstall but i
have to go into safe mode to get to the data. it's a
long story but the short version is my friend let his
pirated copy of xp expire its activation without telling
me! so, needless to say he's bought a legal copy but we
need to retain his financial data. I can't seem to get
his cd-rw to write his data to cd though! is this a safe
mode thing? it was working fine before (at least that's
what he told me).

is there anything else i can do to temporarily get around
activation so I can backup 400 mbs - 2 gb of data before
i do a clean instal?

thanks
jason

 

[Microsoft Preferred Customer]

The solutions I can think of are:

1) Do Repir Install using legit copy of XP. Repair install does not
touch your dat at all. It only installs the new files necessary to make
the OS legit/stable; To do Repair install search for Michael stevens
webpage: http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

2) Use a zip drive and hook it in your USB port. I guess external drive
might also do the trich.

HTH

 

[Kelly]

How to Change the Product ID in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;321636

Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q315341