help instal new motherboard only having recovery cd or partion????

[hybridwiz]

greetings,
im sure someone here on these very enlightened forums can help.

i would like to upgrade my motherboard and cpu to MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum and amd 9850 black edition.

i have an hp m7470n media center pc. already have new ATX case (nzxt apollo), new power (thermaltak 430 watt), new graphics card (9800gt superclocked) and lots of fans.

my HP pc only has a recovery partion as well as recovery discs.
is it still possible to install new msi motherboard, cpu, and ram while only having recovery partion/cds??? (win xp media center edition version 2002 service pack 2)
if so, how?
or will i actually have to fork out more $$$ to microsoft?

i have read many articles on how to get around windows, but all the articles assume you have an actual store bought windows cd.

also, would a thermaltek 430 watt psu even handle the upgrade mentioned above? also currently have1 cd burner, 1 dvd rom, 1 internal hard drive, 4 fans, one 9800 gt graphics card. i know the msi platinum board has an 8-pin power connector while my thermaltek psu has only a 4-pin connector. i know there is a connector made, but even w/ or w/out connector would psu handle the upgrade?

any and all help from the enlightened ones here at toms is most appreciated.
thank you.

 

[o1die]

Get a dell oem windows xp pro cd. They sold at some software venders for around $16 shipped, last time I checked. I don't know if you can find a media center version of xp; check 9software and other venders listed at pricewatch. You will probably have to format the hardrive, so backup your files first with a program such as norton ghost. Some cd's don't require the coa, but you'll have it just in case you want to reactivate windows. Always be careful not to damage the coa so you can read the small numbers. I just installed an ecs board in my compaq pc, so I know the dell cd works.