ok, Im really computer illiterate, and I just bought this really old PC from my family member dirt cheap...its only a pent 266, but running windows xp pro. The cpu/memory is verrrryy low, and I bought some more off ebay.
Anyways, I want to erase everything off of here and start fresh. I found a program that got my product key. NOW, do I buy a re-install disk, or a full? What is the COA licence? Is that the product key I found? What is the licence key? All I want is to start over, and I am all confused! Please, someone tell me what I need in laymens terms! Thanks!!

Hi helliott322,
Firstly welcome to CompuForums, I hope that you can stick around and post here rather than vanish, never to return once we've given you our advice.

To be honest - it's not worth spending a lot of money on that machine. Get some RAM upgraded, but don't expect much in the way of performance. In my opinion it would be a waste of money to buy an XP license and disk just to get a clean install.

You can, however, get an alternative operating system, that is free and designed for older computers. Do you have access to a fast Internet connection and CD burner?

__________________
Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
www.Centicero.com
Want to get in touch? Send me a PM | Do you want to continue receiving free help? Or do you want this site to close? Become a premium member.

I have cable modem, no cd burner. My friend has one, but it depends on why I would need to use it. Her husband would have to burn it. This tower has only 1 cd rom. I could save to a floppy disk? I want to buy a new computer, my husband says why bother? maybe just adding lots of memory might work?? What free OS are you thinking?

Adding a lot of memory to that computer wouldn't make it much faster. You might to b e able to do basic web surfing and e-mail, but that would be about it.

The operating system I am talking about is a 700mb download - so it won't fit onto a floppy disk.

__________________
Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
www.Centicero.com
Want to get in touch? Send me a PM | Do you want to continue receiving free help? Or do you want this site to close? Become a premium member.

yeah, im assuming that the operating systems that he is talking about are linux operating systems. You need the cd burner to create a boot disk. Your friend could do that i think. takes about 5 mins at the most. But yeah, ram is helpful when you have a good motherboard and yours is pretty outdated. Anyway, whatever you choose, when you install winxp 1) make sure it is a clean install 2) change the look from xp to classic view. Classic veiw will make your computer run smoother. If you have any questions just e-mail me for answers. i'll walk you through it.

-Matt

__________________
There is no such thing as a bad operating system....only windows

You could try https://shipit.ubuntu.com/. They deliver Ubuntu CD's for free. It may take up to 10 weeks, though.