Hi HelpMeMsft,
I understand your frustration. I repair old computers for a living. A 12-year old XP computer is definitely a challenge due to the aging hardware. As you know, XP is no longer supported and any computers over 10 years old are pretty much relics. I have several laying around; some work and some are just used for parts.
If the XP corporate CD you got is indeed for an
"upgrade" not an
"full" version, it will not work on an OEM PC that came with XP originally installed as you said. You will need to purchase a new retail boxed version of Microsoft XP (whatever version came with the PC originally is best) which you can still find on ebay for $20-$80 or so. This will most likely still require that you download and install drivers and utilties from the PC maker's website (if OEM; Dell, HP, Gateway, Acer, etc.). This will take you an additional 1-3 days to do. It would be helpful in any circumstance if you would be so kind as to post back the
EXACT Make/Model of your computer. And please also tell us if it's a desktop pc or a laptop.
While you are considering this purchase or shopping for the best price, I urge you to do some hardware testing. The fact that your hard drive is squealing is a pretty sure indicator that the hard drive has failed, and could also be the cause of your XP install disc failing to work.
I suggest that to start with you test both the Hard Drive and the RAM memory with the following free tests:
If that still doesn't resolve the problem, there's a good chance that your hard drive in that machine has failed. You can easily test this by downloading the free
SEATOOLS drive test program from seagate.com. Download the
SEATOOLS program on a different working computer or laptop you have; don't use the desktop that is having the Skype & SP3 issues. Then google the free
IMGburn program and download it. The
SEATOOLS program will be in an
ISO image file format; the
IMGburn program will let you burn that file to a blank CD or DVD disc that will be bootable. I recommend you test this out on the working computer you created the
SEATOOLS boot test disc on. If it works take it over to your parent's PC and try it. Make sure to run
BOTH short and long tests. If
SEATOOLS returns any errors, that hard drive has failed and must be replaced!
Next, download the free MEMTEST program (you can google), and create a bootable disc with
IMGburn in the same fashion you did with
SEATOOLS. Run MEMTEST on each stick of RAM that your have individually; in other words, remove all RAM sticks and test with MEMTEST1 stick at a time for a
minimum of 8 passes. Repeat for each stick. If MEMTEST returns any errors, that stick of RAM has failed and must be replaced. Finally, reinsert all RAM sticks back into their Motherboard slots (1-4 slots typically) and run MEMTEST 1 more time for
minimum of 8 passes. If MEMTEST returns any errors; you could have mismatched speeds or types and will need to replace your RAM sticks in matched pair sets. Continue to run MEMTEST until you have all sticks running for 8 passes without error.
**be aware that if you have 2GB RAM sticks or larger it may take 12-24 hours to achieve the full 8 passes. Of course longer with all your RAM sticks installed on the Final test; so be patient**
These 2 tests won't test everyting in your PC. But, that's a good start as those 2 items (Hard Drive & RAM) are the cause of a failed XP install about 70% of the time. And that's assuming your XP installation media is ok and is a "full" version as I stated above.
If you do replace the Hard Drive and any bad RAM sticks; then reattempt your XP install. Set the failed drive aside for future data recovery of stuff you want from it; such as your Music, Photos, documents, Emails, etc.
Let us know if you run into any difficulties and we can advsise you further.
Best,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>