in a bind, best solution?

[orionlion82]

all kinds of problems.

yesterday, i blew out my hard disk. total catastrophic failure. i fubarred XP, then actually got a SMART status of BAD, did the windows repair, which got me back to a totally fubarred desktop, tried to restore from backup which COMPLETELY WIPED MY C:/, which, remember was failed/failing hardware anyway...
i still thankfully have the entire backup, so im not loosing any sleep over it
BUUUT-

i dont have an XP disk (i used the standalone repair tool)

now, i can buy another XP disk ( yes, this will be my 4th or 5th one) because all my others were lost/stolen/scratched - which would mean a sum total of a 4 digit figure spent on XP over the years. thats right, it would then total over $1000 spent on windows XP. and buy a new harddisk.
1. lest say i do that, should i go SATA?


i can go open source, ive allready got a slick linux install, but of course, it wont do wireless. it just will not support it.

2. i can buy another modem, because my winmodem is not supported either, and do dialup OR

3. go ahead and run all sorts of CAT6 all over the place, and do a fully wired network and toss the really old wireless stuff, but still have the option of installing XP again as time funding allows down the road.

4. cough up the cash for XP, a harddisk, and a newer flavor of wireless networking...

5. some combination of the above?

considering the current climate of hardware and software, and a bit of future proofing, what is my best option in terms of where the money goes?
what will most likely satisfy my needs now and in the future?

sorry for the long post, im just a bit dizzy about what to do.

 

[JimmyG]

I don't run XP, but I believe that you can get a replacement disk from MS for a reasonable cost by just identifying your license to the MS lackeys.

 

[infinitevalence]

Yes you can, get a replacement disk from MS, or use a friends disk with your license number.

 

[coin]

as long as you have a valid XP license key then you can simply borrow someone elses XP disk as the others have said.

 

[orionlion82]

well, my licence is valid, why would it not be? after all, if it werent, maybe i could afford to buy it...

funny how that works...

now the issue is, where to find the licence key? remember i have a dead C:\ and i dont have the boot partition on the backup...
it would be a miracle if my only loss was a 7 year old harddisk...

 

[bchur83]

You should have a Certificate of Authenticity with the Key on it. Usually it is a sticker on your case that is supposed to be attached to the case. Or it may be in paper form.

 

[batboy]

3line, I highly recommend editing your post. Those comments are not tolerated in this forum.

Orion, if you indeed have a scratched original XP disk, you can get that replaced for a nominal fee.

Since you will be buying a new HDD assuming it was really failing, then definitely go with SATA if your mobo supports it (the P4P800 does have a SATA controller). Good wireless routers are fairly reasonable nowadays. As you can afford it, might as well update to better and faster wireless stuff.

 

[PAWO]

You'd likely have to get a replacement disk from MS, as the newer XP cd's are code-tied individually, aka, the code on the package is the only one that works with that particular disc. It can be very annoying when you have several PC's with a license sticker on the box, but can't remember which CD sleeve (when you have multiple XP Cd's) went with which PC/code.....I always well mark them now with a sharpie....

 

[orionlion82]

thanks all, ive pretty much got a handle on the best way to go about this now,

gonna do a fresh install on a new hard disk, and build a locked box screwed into the rafters of the basement, and make a point of keeping essential software, and an auxilary backup of my most important files and apps in there, so this problem never happens again. its an expensive lesson to learn, but i can keep it from happening again. actually gonna hold off on SATA till i build my dual core rig in a few years...
again, thanks all, open source and the rest of the stuff i was considering would have been mostly a headache, i still like it as a secondary OS though.