>Is there a free tool that would allow me to create an image of hard drive of PC with XP professional?

Hrm.. I don't recall of any software right now, but it'll likely be something that runs from a live distro of Linux (i.e. you boot from CD-ROM and use the software from the CD to image harddisk). I know the bootable CD option with commercial product such as Acronis TrueImage utilizes a live distro of Linux.