Dave in Pa,
If you were presented with a 3-ay activation notice, it was most likely due to the hardware changes that XP is seeing because of the departure of several logical drives.
A telephonic activation should do the trick: Rerun the Activate Windows Wizard (Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Activate Windows) and select "Activate my product using the telephone". Follow the phone prompts.
If the automated telephone activation is not accepted, you will be offered the option to speak with a live activation representative. Choose that option. The rep will ask a few questions for the purpose of confirming that you are still using your license for XP in accordance with the EULA. If this is confirmed, the rep will issue an activation code for you to enter into the Activation Wizard.
Post back to let us know how you did