trying to rebuild an xp machine. is there anywhere i can get a boot disc download, which i can then burn to cdr?

not an attempt to defraud bill gates, god no, i have an oem license key, i just need a boot disc

anyone any ideas?

Do you mean an install CD?

Boot disks – http://www.bootdisk.com/

If you do mean an install disk then it isn't available free. They are available via bit torrent, I've heard. If you are using your own key then using a dodgy disk is hardly immoral IMHO. You will need the version that matches your licence and it can be hard to work out which that is especially if it was supplied by someone like dell or HP.

you can get them in quite a few of the rapidshare type places. they tend to be custom install configurations from what i've seen mostly, though, so not sure how easy it would be to get a "clean", non-cracked version.

edit – bootdisk would seem to be the place, though!

if you are doing it from scratch, and can be bothered, this might be of interest!

http://unattended.msfn.org/unattended.xp/

edit – actually this is more what i meant: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/how_to_slipstream_windows_xp_sp3_and_vista_sp1

To be clear,

Are you looking for a boot disc, or an XP installation CD?

(the easiest answer to this btw, if it's an OEM licence, is to look at the website of the computer manufacturer and see if they can provide something like a "rescue CD")