My old computer crashed recently, and I bought a new hard drive. The old one did not have recovery disks, and I realised this too late. Could I reinstall Windows XP Home again on the computer by using the Windows XP Home recover disks from another computer, and use the product code which is printed on the side of the old one?

Nope. The license that came with your old computer is called an OEM license - original equipment manufacturer. This means the license is tied to the "original equipment" and cannot be transfered to new hardware.

You need to buy a new Windows license.

That's the legal issue. Now for the technical issue, you couldn't either. Recovery disks are designed to restore the computer to the out-of-the-box state when it was brand new. That means it has the drivers already setup for the original motherboard (which is an integration of many hardware devices), drives, and other devices. So even if you tried to use those disks (which would be illegal) it is likely the install will fail because of the all the wrong drivers.

Thank you for the advice. It is much appreciated.
I suppose this means that I will have to try to buy another XP Installation, which appears virtually impossible, because they are no longer available.
Hmmmm!!....

Well, if it is a new computer, why not get Windows 7?

But let me back up a minute to make sure we are on the same page. You said your computer crashed, so you bought a new hard drive. Did you mean new hard drive, or new computer?

And when you said the product code printed on the side of the old one, what do you mean by "the old one"?

I thought it was perfectly legal to use pretty much any OEM version of XP on any OEM computer as long as you used the COA key from the computer you are installing it to?

If you install it and it doesn't accept the COA key then you will definitely have to buy a new copy of XP or if it's a big box manufacturer like Dell, Compaq, HP, etc. then go to their web site and order the Recovery CD for your computer. Cost is usually in the $20 range compared to $80+ for purchased copy of XP.

I thought it was perfectly legal to use pretty much any OEM version of XP on any OEM computer as long as you used the COA key from the computer you are installing it to?

The license, not the actual disk, is what matters. If the OEM license came with a computer, it cannot legally be used on any other computer. The license is tied to the original hardware.

Yyp, agree with that, but DRC said:

Could I reinstall Windows XP Home again on the computer by using the Windows XP Home recover disks from another computer, and use the product code which is printed on the side of the old one?

That should be perfectly legal.

That's why I asked for clarification. If we are only talking about a new hard drive in the "SAME" computer as the code is from, then okay.