Whilst that is true, CSfilm, if his manufacturer used some strange hardware devices which is something they tend to do, a standard xp cd might leave him with a lovely clean os, but no drivers. This is especially lovely when you want to try and transfer drivers or use the net to try and find some, but you have no ethernet card that works
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If you're going to go down that avenue, i highly suggest finding and backing up your drivers on something easy to access - usb flash disk for example. It'll save you a bunch of time and frustration.