computer question

[JeffC]

giving my old computer to the kids , it was so slow hence I changed but it was a decent system, so a mate of mine is going to wipe everything off and start again , hopefully that will speed it up, Ive given him the computer but prob is ive lost the original disc that came with it  

how can I get around this ? will I be able to use someone elses disc    

if so has someone got one I can use  

[SimonT]

If you're talking about Windows XP disks then you can use someone elses disk to install the OS. Then, go on to the Microsoft site and check your software is valid. It will tell you it's not but you can make it so by following the Validate Button on the link here:

http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/default.aspx?displaylang=en

It will eventually ask you to enter the product key number on the sticky label attached to your computer.

The sticky label may also be on the original manuals/licence pack if you bought a full version of the software. If it was pre-installed it'll be stuck to the PC somewhere hopefully.

If you haven't got the Product Code key I think you're stuck to stay legal

I've had to do this after a total hard disk failure and it worked fine.

[Blatman]

Yup, if you have the product key that came with the machine when you bought it, then it's a simple call to Microsoft with the old number to get a new, valid number. Just tell them you've had a hard drive fail. Done it once after a processor failure and it was surprisingly easy...