[T30] WinXP Pro Product Key - OEM vs. Store Bought

Here is my problem:
My wife has an older T30. The harddrive took a dump - it's DOA - and we can't find the OEM CDs.
I have a full on store bought copy of XP Pro (same version as preloaded to her computer), and the laptops product key. Logic dictates that I should have been able to use the laptops product key on my CD.
Apparently not.
I don't want to reinstall this, I don't see the need, so there must be a way to force this sucker to take her product key.
Thoughts?
Thanks!

http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-REINSTALLATION-CD-XP-Pro-SP2-New-/260666250202?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=i...
did you ever get your problem straightened out?  all you need is a restore disc.  i buy laptops on ebay all the time without os's.  i've restored xp pro with this disc every time.  you use the key on the bottom of the laptop.  chances are the os won't even request the key. you can use the disc over and over, "as long as the coa on the bottom is for xp pro".  if it says xp home, that won't work. when i have to restore xp home i use my gateway restore disc for xp home.  i've used these discs many times over and over.  it doesn't matter that it is a dell disc or a gateway disc.  it's for restoring an os that was already on your computer.perfectly legal, no problems with activation or validation. you can download sp3 from the m$ site.  
the problem with all the advice above is they are talking about oem xp.  that's a totally different animal.  oem's are used by builders and reburishers to install os's.  i have an xp oem version that i bought and it won't install because microsoft changed the rules for oem software.  everybody needs to use different wording when they're talking about "restoring" an os. they need to call it a restore cd not an oem cd.
T430u, x301, x200T, x61T, x61, x32, x41T, x40, U160, ThinkPad Tablet 1838-22R, Z500 touch, Yoga Tab 2 Windows 8.1, Yoga Tablet 3 Pro
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