The XP CD does NOT contain any license number embedded in it. However, there
are some variations in the distribution CDs that do affect the license that
is acceptable. What you would need to check is whether the license on the
box matches the CD that you have.

Peter Shkabara
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760-451-1643

-----Original Message-----
I have acquired from someone a "crashed" computer that I was able to
resurrect. The computer is running an OEM copy of XP and has the license
code sticker on it. I'd like to ensure all the previous owner's files are
unrecoverable.  If I scrub the drive, I will lose the Win XP license.  I
don't think I can install from another copy of XP because the license # is
synched to the Win XP CD and I don't have the original XP CD. As I remember
from a previous discussion with Microsoft, they just say to use the original
CD to reinstall XP. I do have other copies of XP, but I don't like to waste
the perfectly good license for this machine.
Is there any tool that will overwrite the free space on the hard drive to
make sure the old files are unrecoverable? That should keep the current OS
and applications intact.

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