I know reinstalling windows would correct my undetected usb external hard drive problem from my earlier post but that would
be cheating. I joined BYOIT because I wanted to learn how to troubleshoot (diagnose) and correct these kinds of problems on my own.

Now back to the reason I submitted this post. I didn't get the original windows xp pro 32 bit setup cd rom when I purchased my computer.
There doesn't appear to be a WINNT32 file in the c-drive, and I don't think I have a reinstall partition either.

Sooner or later I would like to be able to return my computer back to factory ( out of the box ) state as it is slowing because of all the things I have
installed and uninstalled and just because of daily use for 4 or 5 years.
I have the windows product key for my computer so is it possible to download a copy of the setup cd rom off the internet for free.
I'm pretty sure this is legal because I have a legitimate windows product key and this is for my personal computer only.
Where could I find this on the web, if anywhere? One last thing and pardon my ignorance but what does it mean to PM somebody.

Again Thanks - Glenn

PM is a personneal message.