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sirjulioFlag for Australia

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Windows XP Home installation woes

I have a MSI M510C laptop:
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=proddesc&prod_no=643&maincat_no=135&cat2_no=418&cat3_no=643
I'm am currently undergoing a fresh OS reinstall.
Unfortunatly, the disks that came with the purchase are a Norton Ghost 8 snapshot that spans 2 disks and has bundled all the useless apps I don't want.
The machine is 2 and years old now and lately the optical drive has been acting up, not always seeing inserted disks.
During the reinstall the 1st disk loads up no probs, launches the ghost recovery screen and begins to load the image, just like the screenshot on the wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_(software)
However when it comes to the part where it wants the second disk, as expected it's pauses the operation and a prompt comes up stating:
Span Volume [1] Done (1660) - Symantec Ghost needs the next part of the image.
After inserting the disk returns the error:
Cannot open image file R:\XH03E001.GHS [DOS error: access denied (0x0005)] (10010)
Then that's the end, OS limbo, previous install wiped, current install failed. A point to note is that the first prompt gives a browse option, and the three drives to choose from are:
@CD-R1 QSI CDRW/DVD SBW243B DVD dri
A: Local Drive
R: [] CD Rom/DVD drive
The first drive has an entry called "Ghost CD/DVD Image" which doesn't seem to be a file nor a folder as the size and date fields are empty, the other two drives are empty. When choosing the only option in the first drive it returns the error: "Error accessing CD/DVD disk (1972) This disk was not created by Symantec Ghost.

My next approach was enters the law infringement area. The business I bought the machine from no longer exists and because it's a public holiday here (Australia Day) and Microsoft's customer service line is closed (to order a replacement CD). Because I have a legal product code for the laptop, I downloaded a home version via bit torrent. This worked until it came to completing the install after copying the setup files and asked for the setup disk even though it was inserted (well the 1 with the burnt image anyway) After selecting browse the error outlined in the following solution occured:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/311755
This resolution doesn't work in this case as regedit won't start. Navigating the file system from the prompt suggests that the CD Drive isn't accessible anyway.

On a final note, the laptop BIOS has an option for a network boot using the Realtek card, could this be an avenue to solve this installation prob?
thanks in advance
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