[Monkey Face]

OK...thanks.

How about this question: If I go in with a restore CD for WindowsXP, will I damage the computer? How about if I do the complete (8 CD) reformatting?

If the computer is a clone, and it’s running WindowsXP, will I kill it if I just “restore” the whole thing with WindowsXP or WindowsXP Presario?

(Am I making any sense?)

[Dead Corpse]

Just booting to a restore CD will not harm anything. It's when you launch any of the restore programs/installers themselves that will start to change things.

You can try and boot up to an OEM restore CD. It isn't going to hurt to try. If it doesn't say anything about being on another manufacturers hardware, it might be ok to go ahead and install their image on the machine.

However, once you start installing, you are copying and over writing system files. If it craps out on you halfway through, it'll need a FULL reload. Either way, whatever is currently on the machine will more than likely be lost.