I have a PC desktop with Windows XP home & need to
purchase a XP CD to do a repair and wanted to know if I
have to activate it to do a repair on an OEM installation
of XP thats aready on the computer.
I would also like to know if I can use this same CD to
repair other computers I own that have XP already
installed on them. Currently all I have is recovery CD's.
I have to do a repair because I'm missing the NTLDR.

Why wont the xp recovery cds work,if it has xp on them
a licensed xp disk is,or should be xp.You should be
able to install cd,boot to cd on restart,recovery,
and repair.Back to queation,xp doesnt need to be
activated for 30 days on an installation.

First, he may not have an actual CD, only a recovery partition and a
procedure that doesn't include any of the XP tools.

Second, he may have a CD but only a manufacturer's recovery CD that, again,
does not offer the options you have mentioned.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

<anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:086201c3af10$8a8315d0$a101280a@phx.gbl...

I believe, if you need to activate again, something that usually doesn't
come up in repair procedures, even a repair install, activation would simply
pick up the original hash and there should not be a problem. If you had to
wipe the system and install clean from the CD, then it would be an issue.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Brett" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0f4101c3af04$5f5c4b80$a001280a@phx.gbl...

don't believe they have any tools for rebooting.

all over . I thought the retail XP CD allowed this to be
possible. Hopefully without activating because I could
use the Retail CD for another computer.

As I stated, running the tools on the retail CD should allow you many more
recovery options than your recovery CD and it should not trigger activation.
When I mentioned activation, it was in the context of the possibility of
installing from the retail CD. If you run a full recovery from your Sony
recovery CDs, that shouldn't trigger activation.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"Brett" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:093401c3af1e$494193e0$a101280a@phx.gbl...