Thanks for the help

"Rick "Nutcase" Rogers" wrote in message
...
Hi Conrad,

Yes, a real copy of WinXP Pro can be used to do a repair installation of
the
bogus installation and preserve your user profiles, software, settings,
and
data. What you will need to do is a repair installation using the
legitimate
key. Follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM
drive.
2. Restart your computer. If you have to, change the BIOS settings to
start
from
the CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer again.
3. At the "Welcome to Setup" page, press ENTER (not "r" to repair).
4. Press F8 to accept the Licensing Agreement.
5. Use the arrow keys to select the installation of Windows XP that you
want
to
repair, and then press R to start the automatic repair process.
6. When Setup is completed, activate Windows XP.

I strongly suggest that you physically disconnect the system from the
internet until you are absolutely sure that the firewall is up and
running,
as the fresh install will be very susceptible to all the viruses still out
there actively seeking unprotected machines.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"Conrad Hoffman" wrote in message
...
My flea market computer evidently has a bogus copy of XP pro on it so
SP2
says it doesn't like the key.
If I go buy a new copy can I install over the old and fix the problem?
I have lots of other stuff on the machine and can't imagine starting
over.
Can someone suggest what coarse of action to take.

Thanks