Windows XP setup freezes... any suggestions

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I have update my dad's computer to an asus K8V-XE motherboard with AMD64 sempron 2600+, 512 DDR PC2100, 2 HDD (1 40gig, 1 80 gig) IDE/ATA, DVD/CD writer, ASUS PCI-E video card (exact details I dont remember now), PSU 350 WATT 230 V.

I did have some initial problems to get it working. but finally it starting up. As expected the old XP on the 40 gig drive would not start because I have changed the motherboard and video card... it got stuck at PCI.sys.
When I try to re-install XP booting from CD-rom with the windows XP installation CD. It freezes at different points. Sometimes after kernel dll, sometimes at right at the beginning, sometimes it bit later. It always FREEZES. I tried to install the raid drivers with F6. but the CD is not responding to this. The floppy drive seems to work though. The F2 button seems to work fine. However I dont have a repair CD. I already have tried a lot to solve the problem. but nothing seems to work. Here is what I did:

- I tried a new copy of XP CD, also tested the CD on a different computer and it worked.
- tried with different CD-rom drive. (one I know is working for sure).
- because I wanted to know whether it is a hardware problem I installed Ubuntu 7.10 on the part of the 80 gig drive. And it was working perfectly. I could access the 40 gig drive, which had the old copy of windows xp on it.

I still need to install the windows XP. Any suggestions to solve the above problem.... are welcome.
 
Do you have 2 sticks of RAM in the PC?

For some reason, RAM running Dual channel can cause XP not to load properly - exactly like U described.

Pull 1 out, install XP, then whack it back in.
 
I would also run drive fitness tests from the manufacturer on both of those hard drives.
 
still xp installation freezes...

thanks for the suggestions...I do have two ram sticks in there. I just tried with 1 and still got the same problem. The drive where taking out from the old system in which the were working properly. ubuntu installed properly on one drive and I can access the other drive from ubuntu... I will test them... I have the feeling the problem has to do with there RAID drivers that are not loaded ....
 
Update

UPDATE. today I tried the following. removed the 40 gig drive. Checked the jumber settings. everything looking fine. Now only a 80 gig drive. And I tried to install XP, and the CD it still FREEZES at the same place. It is getting really frustrating... please help me...
 
Is the WXP disk and OEM, or a recovery/restore disk from a computer manufacturer?
What are the brands and models of the two hard drives?
Ruling possibilities out, as you have already been doing, is next.
MemTest86 for four hours or seven passes.
Drive fitness test downloaded from the hard drive manufacturer (every manufacturer but Toshiba and Tri-Gem have one) would be next.
Trying the install on a fresh hard drive would be very telling, as that would rule out the drive as a problem, and focus on the install disc.
Have you run a low level format on the hard drives, one at a time, to be sure it is not caused by stuff on the drives? (I recommend KillDisk www.killdisk.com) or do a Gurgle search for others you may like better.
My guess is the Windows disk is bad. Look for a pit or two about the size of a very small period on a printed document... not from damage, but from a tiny small bubble defect in the plastic. It doesn't take much. That could cause the optical drive to quit. You can also use Nero or CD Creator to thorougly test the disc for defects and errors.
The fact that it seems to happen in the same place or the same stage in the install is very telling, and prompts me to rule out memory, but it could still be an optical drive.
Try another optical drive, just to humor us.
 
and it is still cold

the drives are perfectly recognized by the bios. Today I tried to install XP, XP-home, and 2000 pro. in all cases the setup froze at different points but before have a some options to install/repair... a few days back ubuntu installed perfectly. so it is not a hdd drive problem. it was suggested to wipe out all data from disk using killdisk. the program started properly, and I could use the ntsf reader ...but the killdisk function would not start from some reason...I have tried already to use another CD/DVD drive...
 
Still suspect even more than your drive is bad, and that Ubuntu just installs to portions of the drive that remain working.
 
fixed problems

I have fixed my problems. i tried a lot of things like writing my harddrive with zeros. Eventually what worked was to change DVD/CD player properties in the bios. I set it to mode0 instead of auto. And the cd would not randomly some during loading xp setup. of course, then I needed to fix the pci.sys error message. That was solved by using a slipstreamed xp cd with Sp2. now it is running perfectly...
 
Somehow part of your message seems to be missing.
Anyhow, glad to see your learned a way to fix it.
Why this happened remains the big mystery for me.

" And the cd would not randomly some during loading xp setup. of course, then I needed to fix the pci.sys error message. That was solved by..."
 
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