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There are about 15 different English Windows XP installation CDs today, so when somebody screws up their system and the only thing they have is a product/CoA key, you need to be prepared. First, let's cover the different Windows installations:
Windows XP Home Retail
Windows XP Home OEM
Windows XP Home Upgrade
Windows XP MCE 2005 Retail
Windows XP MCE 2005 OEM
Windows XP Pro Retail
Windows XP Pro OEM
Windows XP Pro Upgrade
Windows XP Pro Corporate
Windows XP Academic
Windows XP MCE 2005 Upgrade
Windows XP "Go Pro" Promotion Upgrade
The differences between OEM, Retail, and Corporate.All of the installations give you the same features. There is nothing different between them. The only difference is the type of license and product key required to install and activate the installations. OEM installations are done by the system builder and require OEM product keys in order to activate. Pretty much every single computer that you can buy from a retailer has an OEM license. OEM licenses are the most common so expect them first. Retail installations are done using software that was purchased from a retailer. The retail version comes in a retail box with instructions and support from Microsoft. Retail versions can be activated using both retail keys and upgrade keys. Upgrade installations are used to upgrade a previous version of Windows to a newer version. They can also be used to do a clean install without needing an old operating system. Upgrade versions can be activated using either retail or upgrade keys. Corporate installation CDs require a Volume License Key (VLK) to install. This is a key that is purchased by a business and can be used to install Windows a certain number of times. You will usually only see this kind of installation in a large business environment. Academic installation CDs require a special academic CD key in order to activate. These are hard to get a hold of so I don't really know much more about them. So how do I tell which CD I'll need?Before I go any further, you most likely need an OEM CD. With that out of the way, let's go into details a little bit. There are basically two ways to tell. The first is by looking for either an OEM or retail CoA sticker either on the computer case or manual that came with the computer. The second way is by looking at the Windows Product ID. 
Product Key CoA StickerIf your client can not boot up their computer, you should have them look for a CoA sticker. An example of one of these stickers is shown on the right. Usually where it says OEM Software it will have the manufacturer's name instead. Like Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, etc. Product IDIn order to look at the product ID, your client's computer must be able to boot into Windows. Once they boot up, have them right-click My Computer and select properties. Have them read off the 20-digit number under where it says "Registered to:." Copy that down and take a look below. The numbers will be organized in the following fashion: xxxxx-yyy-zzzzzzz-zzzzz. 5 digits, 3 digits, 7 digits, 5 digits. Now that you have their product ID, you can match up the numbers to figure out what you need.
xxxxx set: 55274 : XP Pro Corporate
55276 : XP Pro Upgrade
55276 : XP Home OEM
55277 : XP Home OEM
55285 : XP Pro OEM
55661 : XP Pro Retail
76475 : XP Home Upgrade
76477 : XP Home Royalty OEM
76481 : XP Pro Dell OEM
76487 : XP Media Center Edition 2005
76487 : XP Pro Royalty OEM
76487 : XP Pro Corporate
76500 : XP MCE 2005
76588 : XP Pro x64 OEM yyy set: OEM : OEM
006 : Promo/Retail
007 : Retail
011 : Upgrade
270 : Corporate (VLK)
335 : Retail
640-652 : Corporate (VLK)
648 : Academic Once you know these numbers you can either use the product key on the client's computer or you can use the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder to extract their product key from their computer's registry before you start restoring the system. Windows XP 9-in-1 CDA 9-in-1 CD is a CD that you can make by burning a .ISO image onto a CD. A 9-in-1 CD makes restoring Windows very convenient because it contains nine different install types on one bootable CD. I would suggest downloading one of these and burning it onto a disc. Grab one by heading to Pirate Bay and searching for 9-in-1. The one I use was uploaded by Sabresite.
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