Replacing Windows XP with Vista

[cassie99]

My daughter has a Dell laptop with Windows XP. My son has similar laptop with Windows Vista. Her computer is so slow, it was recommended to reinstall Windows.
However I can't find her XP installation disc although I do have my son's Vista DVD.
Would it be illegal in any way to use his Vista reinstallation disc (which is currently working well on his computer) to replace my daughter's Windows XP?
I presume I'd have to enter a code which might show up as already in use??
Could this affect his computer?

Sorry if these are silly questions - I just don't know how these things work!!

[renegade600]

it would be illegal to use your sons dvd. It is oem and is only allowed to be installed on the computer it came with. It can never be installed on any other computer.

one thing to consider, if xp is slow, then if you installed vista, your computer will, most likely be much, much slower.

You may be able to contact dell and get a replacement restore disk. One other thing you can try is as soon as you power on, press ctrl+f11 key. It should access dells restore partition - if available.

Before you do anything, make sure you backup anything you cannot afford to lose.

[cassie99]

Thank you very much for replying to my query. I'll try accessing the restore partition and, if that fails, will contact Dell to see if I can get a replacement restore disc.
I have already backed up everything!
thanks again.