Windows installation freezes!

I've been wrestling with installing Windows XP SP2 for a few days now, and it keeps freezing at the exact same spot. After spinning up the installation CD and watching all those files load, it hits that first menu and just dies right when it says "Setup is starting Windows." I should mention—this machine ran Windows XP perfectly fine for about four years without a single hiccup. I think I might have messed things up by swapping out some components from another PC; I put everything back exactly how it was once I was done, but the OS is acting possessed now.
MBO KD7E KT333, AMD Athlon XP 1800+ 1.53 GHz Socket A, 640 MB DDR 266 MHz, Seagate Hard Drive 40GB, Nvidia GeForce2MX400 64 MB.

I've tried installing Windows 2000, Me, 98, and even 95, and they all eventually freeze up somewhere along the line.
As a test, I successfully installed MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11. I actually moved the drive to a different computer, formatted it, and then—using that very same installation disc—installed Windows XP SP2 without any issues whatsoever.
When I move the drive back to the problematic machine, it gives me the option to boot into Safe Mode. I try selecting Safe Mode, but as soon as it starts listing the files, it freezes again.
I’ve poked around the BIOS (Award v3.1 LCP) trying to find the culprit, but no luck there. I even went as far as flashing the latest version, kd7_v39, but that didn't change a thing.
I'm honestly running out of ideas here—maybe someone else has run into something similar? Any help would be appreciated.

disk, just grab the software directly from the manufacturer's official website and run some tests

Maybe try leaving just a single stick of RAM in there; I've seen it work like that before once or twice.

Go ahead and test that memory first. If that doesn't work, just start pulling components out one by one if you can—it's the best way to troubleshoot. Most likely, something is just acting up under the hood, haha.

I ran into an identical issue at my sister's place earlier this spring. It turned out to be a memory problem, specifically involving one of the motherboard slots. My advice is to move the RAM to a different slot, or if you have two sticks, pull one out and test them individually in various slots to see which one holds up.

It doesn't necessarily mean it's a software glitch—I ran into the exact same thing myself where my system would just freeze up mid-way through a Windows installation, and turns out it was nothing more than a faulty SATA cable connecting the drive to the motherboard.
Give it a shot with a different cable if you have one lying around; if the wire itself isn't the culprit, then you're probably looking at whatever ironjackal40 mentioned.

Thanks for getting back to me!
None of those suggestions worked—I tried running the installation from a different drive, swapped out the cables, and messed around with the memory too. I have three slots (two at 256MB and one at 128MB) and I've cycled through just about every combination imaginable, but it keeps hanging right at "Setup is starting Windows."
At this point, I don't think there's anything left to pull out of this machine besides the hard drive and the graphics card before I just call it a night!

I mean, have we even considered the possibility that the disc itself just gave up the ghost? Or, you know, maybe the CD or DVD burner or reader is the thing actually acting up?

slyorca65 said:For a few days now, I've been trying to install Windows XP with Service Pack 2, and it freezes at the exact same spot every single time. After booting from the installation CD and loading the files, it hits the first menu and then just hangs right when it says "Setup is starting Windows." Just so you know, this XP setup worked perfectly fine on this same rig for four years without a hitch. I messed things up by swapping some components from another PC, and even though I put everything back exactly how it was—except for the OS—it's acting up.
MBO KD7E KT333, AMD Athlon XP 1800, 640 MB DDR 266 MHz, Seagate Hard Drive 40GB, Nvidia GeForce2MX400 64 MB.

I tried installing Windows 2000, Me, 98, and 95, and they all freeze somewhere along the way.
MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 installed successfully (just as tests), so I moved the drive to another computer. After formatting it there, I used the same installation disc to install Windows XP SP2 without any issues.
When I put the drive back into the problematic PC, it offers to boot in Safe Mode. I select Safe Mode, let it list the files, and then it freezes right there.
I've poked around the BIOS (Award v3.1 LCP) trying to find the culprit, but no luck. I even flashed the latest version, kd7_v39, and still nothing.
I'm honestly out of ideas here. Has anyone dealt with something like this? I really need some help.

Check if you have some kind of antivirus protection enabled in your BIOS... if it's on, turn it off.

The CD drive and the burner aren't responding either—though I suppose I did swap those components out just a little while ago.

Even with the BIOS ChipAwayVirus on Guard set to Disabled... it’s the exact same issue.

If you find yourself getting stuck at the exact same spot every single time, then there's a pretty good chance your hard drive has finally given up the ghost on you.

In my initial post, I mentioned that I actually moved this exact same hard drive over to a different machine and successfully installed Windows XP from that very same disc—so, I suppose, we can rule out any issues with the installation media itself.

Wait, hold up—so you actually installed Windows on that other machine and then shoved the hard drive back into the one that was acting up? And you’re telling me that second computer uses the exact same drivers, the same chipset, the same graphics card...? I highly doubt it. Not a chance.

Of course it isn't the same—that was merely a quick test to verify the integrity of the installation CD and the hard drive!

And honestly, you probably won't even be able to get the thing to boot up—it’s got a completely different set of drivers installed on this machine.

Try resetting the BIOS first. And hey, did you actually do a full wipe on that drive? I don't mean a quick format—I mean a total, complete scrub. Try running it on a different PC and let me know how it goes. Seriously, everyone, keep us posted! Oh, and make sure you format it as NTFS!

Benjamin King2, Benjamin King2, have you actually been following this thread from the very beginning?

I’ve already tried all of that—removing the battery from the motherboard and performing a full NTFS format—but I’m still seeing absolutely zero progress.

The issue is definitely that 99% RAM usage.

Just leave a single stick in there (if you’ve got 3) and try the installation again. If it crashes, swap it out for the other stick.

I saw you mentioned something about the RAM earlier, but I wasn't sure if you'd actually tried what I'm suggesting.

There was even a time when a mere 1% chance would suffice—just taking those three RAM sticks and pairing them up one by one in each of the three slots, without making any other changes at all!

So, look, after everything we've just been through, if you're still hitting a wall, try swapping that CD/DVD drive to a different IDE port or just flip the jumper settings from slave to master or vice versa. If even that fails to do the trick, your best bet is to just copy the WinXP files directly onto the hard drive and boot from there. I’m telling you, it works every single time.

There are just some certain combinations of motherboards and optical drives that are completely broken. Everything looks perfectly fine on paper, but then the installation just hangs out of nowhere and leaves you...