needing help to reformat old computer

Hi all,
my lovely Nana just gave me her old computer for my son to play games on. errors are coming up when starting it up and its driving me nuts, anyway i was thinking of just reformatting it all. She has xp on it and she never gave me a disk for it but i have a xp home disc that was with my old computer that i dont use anymore so my question is
can i reformat(how do i do this by the way) and then install my old xp disc?

A Clean Install will format itself. You just follow the prompts. A good, although perhaps overly confusing, guide here:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cl...all.html#steps

The main point is you need a unique XP license.

You cannot use any existing license on another computer without relinquishing the old computer.

The key is tied to the motherboard.

You basically need the key to the original computer which may be on a label on the case or else you need a new version of XP simply for a new key.

You could also use ubuntu which is a free Linux OS:

http://www.ubuntu.com/

thanks jephree,
im checking out that page now.
i see on the computer it has the key sticker thingy on it but i dont have her disc?.. do i not need it?

No. The disks themselves are generic.

You need the same version as the original e.g. XP Home SP1 or XP Pro SP2 etc.

As long as the CD matches the original version all you need is the 25 character key.

mmm ok...well the disc i have is the same xp home but its so old that it doesnt even have sp1 on it (2002 version) and this old computer that i want to reformat is xp home sp2.
does that mean i cant do it?
sorry if its a silly question

What was the original version on the old computer?

It might have been upgraded to SP1 then SP2.

The original version needs to match the key.

If the computer is really old (2002) as well they will probably work.

oh yeah, i remember i did up grade my old puter to sp2...but i never got a new disc for it. just did it online,
my nanas computer was bought in 2005..
just double checked the keys on both computers and they are both windows xp home.
so i should be able to use that disc then.

2005 would most likely be XP SP1.

I would try your CD.

If you get an error saying: "A newer version of XP is on this computer" we can show you how to make a "slipstreamed" XP SP1 CD:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...1/default.mspx

yep i got that exact error.
so im just checking out that link now