I might but I do not intend to consider those options because that would destroy the whole point of his having this particular machine.
There is also the obvious cost of an upgrade versus the worth of a second hand laptop for an 8 year old which does not make economic sense. The reason I got him the Laptop with XP Pro was that it meant his machine is totally the same in all respects as that of his brother. Thus they can all do the same things, find the same things in the same places and the little one feels that what he has is as good as everyone else. Such considerations are important when dealing with children (by which I mean more than one child).
So back to the original requested solution ~ I could solve this by throwing money at it by buying him a new machine but that would not, in the 8 year old's eyes, be the RIGHT answer ~ I need to find an inexpensive way of restoring his operating system. Nothing else will do.
I have indeed considered buying a new XP Pro CDRom Cost is £40. I have been quoted a cost of £45 by a local "We fix your lap-top shop" for them to reinstall XP Pro. To return the machine to base under the warranty for them to reinstall would cost me about £30 carriage. I was simply looking for a faster and cheaper solution to fix a minor problem on a Laptop that only cost £130 in the first place. Why so cheap ~ well I knew that he would break anything I gave him within a shortish period of time so why spend more?