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I’ve bought new hardware and install it. I got I all to work with Windows XP (SP1) but after running the system for a about a day, the system became unstable.

Now it gives me black screen after windows load.

The system is:

Asus Reppublic of gamers, formula Maximus (x38)

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

CORSAIR DOMINATOR DDR2 PC2-8500 2x2 GB

SEAGATE BARRACUDA ES.2 SATA2 500 GB

Club-3D GeForce 8800GTS 512MB

I’ve formatted the hard drive and reinstall Windows (from my old computer, as I could not get windows to reinstall on new system)

I suspect that it might be the RAM or the CPU that’s the problem, but I don’t know how to find with one or the other or if it is a completely different problem.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Try a cold boot to SAFE MODE, by pressing the <F8> key repeatedly about once per second until it boots. If nothing on the screen then, you likely have a bad video graphics card. If you get something on the screen that is low resolution, you likely have a bad driver.
You might try any other video card to see if you get a screen, which tells you a lot about your card.
If it is booting, and you can hear it work, then it is probably not the memory.
Usually the problem is not eh CPU unless you have it installed improperly without enough thermal paste, or too much thermal paste.
How did you format the hard drive and install Windows if you could not see the screen.
If you used a hard drive installed on any other computer, then that is your problem, as Windows Antipiracy will prevent it from working on your computer without a repair install.

When I try to reinstall or repair windows it freezes. The install cd or dvd drive is not the problem, as they both work on my old computer. Does this mean that the problem is the hard drive?

Have tried with another hard drive and it is still having the same problem with system freeze at reinstall of windows. The system freezes after choosing reinstall or repair.

Hard drive, memory module, or video graphics card.
Download they drive fitness test from your hard drive manufacturer's website... All of them have one except Tri-Gem and Toshiba. Run the long test.
Download and run the Free MemTest86... run it for four hours or seven passes, whichever is longer...
Could also be a CPU fan, or dirt and dust allowing heat to build up.

What hardware did you install? Have you tried resetting to the defaults in your BIOS?

All of the hardware is new.

I’ve run the memtest and hard drive test both fund no errors. I’ve also set the bios to default.

I’m thinking that the cpu is fine as it ran the hard drive and mem test without any problems.

So I’m really at a loss here. I can’t get pass the Windows load screen (freezes right before the welcome screen, only gives me a black screen with mouse pointer that I can’t move). The system won’t start in safe mode and I can’t get it to run a windows reinstall.

As I’ve said, I have had the hole think up and running with windows a few apps and programs install. Could it be a virus/rootkit of some?

Did you move your hard drive, with Windows installed, to another computer. That will activate the antipiracy aspect of Windows, resulting in a black screen. You then have to run the Windows CD in repair mode to get it back to normal.

Yeah I did that.

The problem is that I can’t get to the install/repair screen with the windows cd. It freezes after it has read all the drivers.

As I wrote before, the windows cd should not be the problem as I used the cd to install windows on the new hard drive on my old computer.

Larssteen...you need to create a system spec profile for yourself so we can see all your hardware. Is your Cd/DVD rom drive new? You didn't use the same key for more than one machine did you?

The system spec’s are:

Motherboard - Asus Reppublic of gamers, formula Maximus (x38)

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

RAM - CORSAIR DOMINATOR DDR2 PC2-8500 2x2 GB

Hard drive - SEAGATE BARRACUDA ES.2 SATA2 500 GB

Graphic Card - Club-3D GeForce 8800GTS 512MB

PSU – Chieftec 350W

DVD drive – NEC DVD±R ND-3520A Burner

The dvd drive is not new but I’ve used it to install windows recently on my old computer, so I don’t think that the dvd drive is the problem.

I’ve have not used the same cd key for both systems.

Just to be sure that there were no software left to interfere, I’ve done a total erase of the hard drive. And it is still giving me the same problem. I get to the screen were I can choose to install or repair windows, but the computer freezes after I choose either one.

The computer ran a hard drive test and a hard drive erase for a total of ca. 14 hours without any problems. It only seems to be Windows that is acting funny.

Would it bye any chance help to reset the cmos?

On some SATA drives you need to load the driver from a floppy. Are you using this? If not, you need to find the right driver and use the f6 option during the install. Perhaps it is not seeing your hard drive.

The first time around I had no problems installing Windows on the hard drive. So I don't think that Windows not seeing the hard drive is the problem.

Still looks like the Window Antipiracy block is a possibility since you used it on another computer.