Edit: Wow! It finally went though!
References :

2. no SP2 was the next to last service pack XP was patched 2 in release form, SP3 was available as a download only, SP2 was download or slip streamed in the last releases of XP series, BTW it’s either XP Pro or Home, if it’s both it’s a bootleg customized CD and not a Genuine MS product

3. OEM are Original Equipment Manufacturer
basically it’s a generic XP cd with generic drivers, the OEM builder can then customize it to their own installs ( called slip streaming ) with custom drivers and what not OEM Cd have no MS support since the support license has not been paid, so they tend to be cheaper than retail versions, support comes from the OEM builder, not MS.

4. no, not sure why they do this

5. SP3 was the last update MS did, and as far as I know not an official MS release, if you see them they are usually bootleg customized slip streamed service packs into a XP CD, most have a hack to not to register with MS, but still update from MS Update

6. yes just insert, boot to the cd and let it do it’s thing

I brought OEM SP2 XP Pro from Tiger Direct, one of the few places that actually sell real XP CDs that pass the authentication and will update
References :

1) This version of Windows will not work for you. It will in fact install however it will deactive in 30 days because you are not using a compaq computer.

2) Service Packs are just updated. Any Windows XP cd you buy will have at least service pack 2(unless it’s real old). You actually want service pack 2 as it fixed many security problems.

3)OEM is like the compaq version.

4)An IDE cable is what use you use to hook up hard drives/floppy drives to the motherboard. Ignore this. You do not need one.

5)Service pack 3 is just an updated version again. Service pack 3 just recently came out. I have no reviews on it which is usually a good thing.

Part 2)

There are plenty of guides on how to reinstall Windows XP. The hardest part though is getting started. You have to tell your computer how to boot to your CD-Rom device. It’s hard to say how you do this as its different from computer to computer. See if you can find out your BIOS version and look up how to put to the CD-Rom.

Once you have that done it’s easy to find a guide such as:

http://tweakhound.com/xp/installxp/installXP1.htm
References :

Here’s hoping someone out there can help me here and, please, only serious answers, no smart alec remarks. It’d really be appreciated here.

Part 1 –

My friend recently got a gently used second hand computer (it was made somewhere around 2000-2003). The previous owner, because she used it for her store, had to (be on the safe side) and erased everything from it using … some program or another. (She was getting rid of the pc for a newer one. Not that she didn’t like the older one, its just that she wanted a newer one.)
The thing is, there is NOTHING left on the C drive. No operating system. No Windows 98, no Windows Xp, or whatever. Fft. Nothing. You know when you start up your computer and the screen is black and there’s all that white data text showing up on the pc screen? Well, this computer does that, but that’s it. Which, basically, (currently) renders it unuseable.
And just so you know, the pc isn’t any specific name brand. It has "A Open" on the front of it and on the back the sticker reads ‘Quality Computer Systems, Inc." Has 30 gigs of space, or, so says the outside of the C drive itself (you know, that informational sticker on it).
Not sure what other info I need to post about it, but if any is needed to help things here, let me know and I’ll post it.

Here’s the thing. She said she wants Windows XP Professional on her pc. I have nothing against it cause it’s better than Windows 98 (only b/c I’ve been able to use Windows XP to use my jump drives and not my Windows 98, otherwise I’d still happily be using Windows 98) and a heck of a lot better than Windows Vista (so not even going to go there). She doesn’t want any other operating systems than that and she’s made that point loud and clear.

But, I’ve been doing some looking around. I’ve noticed

(I’ve just done some idle hunting on Ebay simply for easy finding sake, not saying I’ll actually get anything from Ebay, though)

1 – Compaq Laptop Lcd CBL Windows XP Pro CD http://cgi.ebay.com/COMPAQ-LAPTOP-Lcd-CBL-Windows-XP-Pro-CD-Full-Ver-code_W0QQitemZ110293453054QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item110293453054&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A15%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Does this mean that this version only works for / on laptops?

Then there’s
2 – Windows XP Service Pack 2 SP2 CD Professional PRO + Home
Since this is a Service Pack 2, this has to be different than just the Windows XP Pro right? But… how?

And then there’s
3 – Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 OEM CD
…OEM?

4 – And they seem to come with a ‘IDE Cable’? Just what is that and what does it do? Is it vital to the pc somehow with Windows XP?

And THEN
5 – Windows XP Service Pack 3 SP3 CD Home Professional
I take it that this one is different, too, than the first Windows XP cd and the second service pack, but how?

So, which one do I get? The first, the second, or the third?

And now, Part 2 –

Once I know just what the heck to get (and I get it), how do I go about installing the operating system on this Operating system-less pc? Just place it into the CD drive and let it do its business? Or would this take someone a bit more technologically advanced than me to do it? (Meaning, hauling it into a Radio Shack or something.)
I’m asking (stupid as this sounds) simply because, though I know my way around a pc (well, moreso than what she does), there’s still a LOT I don’t know and I don’t want to screw this up for her or for me. (Besides, it’s a learning process for me. I don’t want to have to depend on someone else to do this for me when I can learn it for myself and use it again later in the future. You know, the whole ‘teach a man to fish’ quote.)

Thanks again for your patience and interest and, for getting all this way, you get a cookie! YAY YOU! ~*gives you a cookie*~ ^_^