Been awhile regarding this problem. Gotten away from me. I have an OEM copy of win xp pro that I do not use any longer. I tried using this to reformat, but it would not allow to do so. Rejected. I was asked to check if there was a product key on the computer. Making sure that actually the pc was not a white box. There was I was hoping this product key would allow the reformat if OS was on the HD. I tried searching for the winnt32.exe. thru the i386 folder. There were nine folders but nothing showing the installation files. Named "key" or "serial". Maybe matching the key on case. My question today is, can this copy of win xp pro still be isntalled in any way? I hope story here is not confusing... I did go to the Gateway site and see the recovery disks. There were other sites, with different prices.. Any other info is greatly appreciated... Thanks all ...=^)