Windows setup logs everything. If setup resumes, it checks
for a log. It notes the last item on the log and figures
it was a problem. Depending on what it is, it will take
some sort of evassive action to allow setup to continue.
Lets say that maybe it doesn't like your modem and hangs
up on it. You end up holding the power button in until the
machine shuts down and then you boot back up with the
Windows CD still in. Setup will detect that a previous
installation isn't finished, looks for the log, notes the
modem at the end of the log, skips the modem, and
continues on. (You get the option of setting it up after
Windows loads.)
What I described is an "in a perfect world" scenario.
Maybe that's similar to your situation?
Does the machine reboot itself?
Have you rebooted it manually the way I pointed out?
If you've already done all this, and the problem persists,
maybe it's something Windows can't skip, like your
motherboard chipset or drive controller.
If you can't get Setup to finish, go into the BIOS, write
down the default settings, and then disable your serial,
printer, and USB ports.
Remove any extra PCI or ISA cards (Windows hates ISA).
If you have on-board stuff like networking, modem, hard
drive controller, etc. you might need to disable all of it
in the BIOS and install Windows to a drive on the main
controller.
Good luck.
