did dell give me a copy of windows xp when i bought the computer?

The XP that came with Dell, is ONLY licenced for that machine, you cant transfer it to another PC or Mac, OEM licence states they are sold with teh machine, and stays with that machine only.

The first answer is correct (despite being thumbs downed by some doofus). The version of Windows that you have is an OEM version and it is "keyed" to the particular computer it came on (it's pegged to that systems BIOS). You can get away with installing OEM versions on like computers within the same brand (i.e., two Dell's, etc), but not when they're completely different brands.

You can give it a try and see what happens, it won't hurt anything...either it'll work, or it won't. If it doesn't work, then you're going to need a retail version of Windows to dual boot using BootCamp.

From the sounds of it, you have a useable version of XP. You will still need an XP key, which should be on the Authentication sticker on the side or back of the computer box. There are many versions, so not all keys will work with all versions...for example version sp1 has a predefined group of keys and version sp2 has its own predefined set of keys. They are not interchangable. Once you start the install, you have to finish it, or you will be stuck in a partial install boot up situation....ugly. Keep in mind, if you cannot validate your key, (one registration per mac address) then you cannot get your updates. Good Luck

What the companies are doing (which is a pain in the butt if u need to reinstall windows) is when you buy a PC with an operating system installed, they do not include the disk. so if you are sure you dont have the disk, then you will need to buy one. you can always get a crack copy of limewire or the internet. but if u bought the PC recently, chances are you dont have the disk. if you want to take the risk use limewire or search for it in google groups or something.

Yes.