I have a Sony Vaio w/XP Media Center Edtion 2005. I had to replace the hard drive, motherboard and processor. I do not have a backup or restore disc. My friend said I could use his media center 2005 install disc. Does anyone know if I can use the OEM number on the sticker of my case to install that? Any advice appreciated!

I think you can, but not 100% positive. WinSimple Software

I installed OEM XP Home from a regular Microsoft CD on a HP Pavilion that had developed an inaccessible hard drive using the XP Home key on the case and it worked fine. I have heard of several others who have done similar. "My friend said I could use his media center 2005 install disc." I have installed OEM MCE 2005 four times - in each case it was a 2 CD set. As far as I know OEM MCE 2005 only comes on two CDs, at least, I've never heard of it of it being on a DVD. If your friend has a brand name system and that's what the disk is for, he probably doesn't have an actual MCE disk, he's got a Recovery CD, which is a different thing. If it's a Recovery CD it will quit the install on your computer. If he does have OEM MCE, if it isn't on a DVD, it must be 2 CDs, and in either case they will probably look quite like regular Microsoft XP Home or Pro CDs, reddish with holograms all over them. There are bugs in the two CD MCE Setup that have never been fixed. About 75% of the way through loading files from the first CD, it asks for another CD by name, but it does not match the name of the 2nd CD. At that point, you must load the second CD, in the SAME drive if you have more than one. Files will load from the second CD for a while, then Setup asks for a CD by name, but it does not match the name of the 1st CD. At that point, you must load the first CD, in the SAME drive if you have more than one, then Setup will finish up normally. If you don't follow that procedure, Setup can still finish, but Windows will not work properly and many files are missing. ..... Also, if you ever need to run sfc /scannow, Windows freaks out when you insert the second MCE CD - it will not accept it as valid. However, most of the essential system files it checks or replaces are on the first CD. ....... If you friend does not actually have OEM MCE, or if he does but the key on the Sony case doesn't pass Genuine Windows Validation later on when you attempt to get Microsoft Updates, or in any case, you can probably order a set of Recovery CDs or DVDs from Sony for your exact model for a lot less than it costs for even an OEM XP Home CD. E.g. a got a set of 5? Recovery CDs for a Compaq system, it got to me in about 4 days, and it was only $27.xx..