IBM thinkpad Recovery CD not working

[XeonGX]

Hello,
I have an IBM Thinkpad R52, When I bought it, it came with 8 recovery CDs.
Supplemental CD, Boot CD, Recovery CD 1-6.
Recovery CD 2 and 3 give me a cyclic redundancy error.
Now I can't install windows xp again to my laptop.
I can't buy another set of recovery CDs because they cost too much.
I have the Windows XP sticker on the back of my laptop, It has Product Key printed on it, Can I download windows XP, and install it on my laptop, then activate it with that product key?
Whats the use of product key?

 

[Decker]

That would be okay as you have the product/license key on the machine, might be a hassle getting all the drivers, and the rest of the software supplied on the recovery CD's.

Maybe someone else has a set that could be copied for you - that's allowed too IBM and others do tend to overcharge for extra sets of these.

 

[XeonGX]

I downloaded/installed windows xp from a torrent, when i entered the product key, it didn't accept it. so i entered the fake product key, then updated with the real product key after it was installed.
good thing IBM has ThinkVantage system update. it downloaded all of the drivers automaticly

 

[Decker]

Glad it worked okay - you must have had one of the lovely OEM keys that only work with recoveries. Always hated them.