Issue with re-installation of Windows XP.

I put in the Media Center cd and now it says "type the path where the file is located and then click OK. How do I know what the type in  there? As you can tell I've never done anything like this before so I hope you can bare with me.

Sorry if my instructions were not explicit enough. I believe that the first CD that you used to install Media Center IS the Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 CD that is being asked for. In this context it means that it wants the full Micorosft Windows installation CD that incorporates SP2 within it and not a CD that only has SP2 on it.

Do you have 2 installation CDs? Did the installation proceed as I described?

Tricky

Neither Wal*Mart nor any other retail store has a "Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2" CD.  You can create a CD, but the directions for doing so depend on what exactly you want/need. 

What is the complete text of the message that you got, without paraphrasing?

Are you trying to "restore to factory settings," do a clean install of Windows, or do a repair install of Windows?  If you are following directions from some website, please provide the URL.

What is the make and model of the computer?

What -- exactly  -- is printed on the CDs that you have?

Thanks for the help. I already did just as you suggested but then I didn't have the right kind of CD. It was to late yesterday to go look for the right one and if WalMart doesn't have it I'm out of luck again until I leave this miserable town with no stores! I don't know anything about the ImgBurn/no candy switch and I have already downloaded this to another computer. I'm reinstalling Windows XP on an older computer and I had all the CD's that came with it when new but not that service pack. And that was the last thing I needed to complete the reinstallation. I had been chatting on a computer help website and no one mentioned that I would need that. So again thanks for the help. I really appreciate. it.

You can make an SP2 CD is what you have is a SP0 or SP1(a) CD.

1. Too lazy to look it up for you so just Google XP SP2 and download it from MS.
2. Copy the contents of your CD to a folder on your hard drive.
3. Run the following command from Start > Run.
4. <path to SP2> including the .exe part /integrate:<path to folder where you copied the content s of the CD>. EXAMPLE: "C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\SP2.exe" /integrate**:"**C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\XPCD". There's a space between SP2.exe" and /integrate. Don't forget the quotation marks if your paths have spaces in them.
5. Do this to make your ISO and burn it...preferably with ImgBurn. Install ImgBurn with the /nocandy switch or you may inadvertently install Adware.