XP or Hardware Problem?

[jackal15]

So the other night my PC takes a dump and decides to reboot. Basically it began the whole windows failed to boot up properly error and has the endless loop of loading "normally or safe mode or last known good configuration". Ive tried them all and its an endless loop and never see the XP splash screen. So initially I thought my hdd was dead or dying so I purchased a new drive (I needed more gigs anyway). Now Windows XP will not even install. I put in my XP disc and Windows goes through the whole initial loading files stuff and then says "starting windows", then reboots, and starts the entire process over again. I never get to the actual setup in xp, i.e. selecting the drive, formatting, etc..

So then I thought it was ram related.. I have two sticks of ddr2and four slots on my abit fatality mobo. I did the entire musical chairs routine trying all slots with one or both of the sticks and nothing changes. Does DDR require pairs? I thought that it didn't, but if it does this could simply be a bad stick issue.

My BIOS sees everything correctly, total ram, hdd's, dvd drive, etc..

Any suggestions on this issue?

 

[TangoTrolly]

Sure looks like a hardware problem. You already eliminated two major components, the HDD and Memory (maybe). It would be good to get a hold of a bootable CD with hardware tests. Two free ones are Ultimate Boot CD 3.4 and #1 TuffTEST Lite. They have memory, CPU and HDD test routines on them.

If you have access to another Power Supply (PSU), try to swap it out. A fluctuating voltage can cause reboots too.

 

[raybay]

You might benefit from running Memtest86 or see www.memtest.org... (run for 5 to 10 passes, or four hours) then download and run the drive fitness tests found at the website of your hard drive manufacturer... free, easy, and quick. and even a new drive can fail due to damage in shipping.
It can also be other hardware such as sound card, video card, power supply, CPU fan if they have failed. Some such problems, though less likely,it can also be caused by an infestation of malware or a bad cmos battery.
The most likely cause, however, is a memory module has failed.
Check also to see if you have excessive dirt or hair in the power supply or fan.