XP keeps reloading when installing

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Hi,

I am trying to clean install XP on a computer but it copies the files and when it reboots for the first time it goes back to the start again. When i put in the xp disk (xp pro sp2) in, it doesn't ask me to hit a key to start the cd - i have changed the boot sequence in the bios to start from the cd first because if i set it to start from the hard drive first it loads for a few minutes and then a list of the hardware comes up on a black screen and it says that there is no operating system. So, it loads straight from the cd but it asks me what i want to do - and i have chosen to install xp - i then created a 6 gig partition on ntfs (i was told it might be size sensitive over 8 gig) and it goes through setup (copying files) until i get to the first time it needs to reboot (i have installed xp lots of times for my friends). It automatically reboots after 15 seconds but when it does it goes back to the very start where it says that it is checking the hardware configuration on a black screen. Even when the files are copied and i try to run it from the hard drive, I still get the window saying no operating system on it. I am really baffled.
Cheers.
 
Hi

Your HD is screwed or the BIOS isnt seeing it as bootable device,

Try this

Set your Cd to boot first then when file copying is over and as the pc boots enter BIOS and change it to boot from your HD.

Regards
 
sorry for the delay getting back - holiday time. unfortunately i had already tried changing the boot sequence and when i do that it eventually loads up to a black screen with the hardware listed and the message that there is no operating system. i have tried another drive that i had and it is exactly the same make and model but it does the same when i try it. i have another separate drive that i might try next week (going away for the weekend) or i might "borrow" another working hard drive and try it.
i'll post my results in the latter part of next week.

cheers.
 
how much RAM do you have and what are the mobo specs? I think it might be a RAM issue. Are you using SATA drives? Are they first gen or second? What is the transfer speed? I had a board that wouldn't see my satas no matter what I did.
 
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