BIG thank you!
Your download link worked, now have xp home sp3. I got the sp3 patch from Softwarepatch.com. Hope it is just KB953356 and not more spooks. I have tried sp3 from MS many times before, so the patch rings true, appears to be the same number as in your first (of the 2) links you posted above.
I probably have spooks in both machines from dialup service insecurity. Less than a month now on Bell.ca service. I have discs for both computers, win7 is extreme from a university, need to buy the code. Want to get Ubunto instead but find that difficult as the instructions are in developer jargon. Other is factory disc from 1996 or so. Can I burn the image of what I have now, then start over by loading the old factory disc, then install all the good things from the burned copy?