Thread: Windows XP won't run

I am trying to fix my sisters pc and can't get it to load windows even when windows gets loaded I can't keep it going for more than 5 minutes before I get a bsod. On one occasion I get the error message I am not sure if it is xp home or pro but it has sp3 installed. She bought the pc from the school in her town but did not get a windows disk or a recovery disk with it but she does have the activation key numbers on a label in her pc. I have a copy of xp pro w/sp1, will that disk repair her pc.

The recovery partition is still intact the system manufacturer will normally have advice for creating a set of recovery disks. Those can then be used for a full factory restoration with the same edition the model came preinstalled with The product key on the sticker will only work with the same edition

The best way to find out which edition is installed on any Windows machine is to go right into the Control Panel>System or simply right click on the My PC icon in XP there to bring up the system properties screen.

You have to find out the Home or Pro or even the 2005 Media Center edition and system preinstalled with there. XP Pro with SP1 is way too far outdated to start with since most now have SP3 on being the last service pack for that version. Another option since the preinstall is in need of a drive wipe and restoration would considering an upgrade to 7 provided at least Vista updates were provided for that model