XP Pro install reboot loop

[Carl]

I just built a new system (P4 on an Intel board, GForce
Ti4400 video, SB Audigy sound card, 1 gig RAM, etc) but
I'm unable to install XP Pro. I am booting from the XP CD
and allowing the drivers to load. At the point where the
screen normally changes to a 'graphical' mode ("Setup is
starting Windows") the PC reboots and the process starts
all over again. No messages or errors of any kind appear.

I had this same problem 2 years ago with my older PC, but
was able to work around it. At the time, I read an
article that mentioned problems with temperature detection
on some systems, so I disabled the Power Management and
system health information in the BIOS, then setup
completed successfully. However, on this new motherboard,
the options are a bit more limited and I cannot seem to
find any way past this problem. Average running temp of
the system after a couple hours of running was 100deg F.

The current board is an Intel D875PBZ, with a P4 2.8GHz
chip and Corsair 2-2-2-5 low latency RAM.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
I just built a new system (P4 on an Intel board, GForce
Ti4400 video, SB Audigy sound card, 1 gig RAM, etc) but
I'm unable to install XP Pro. I am booting from the XP CD
and allowing the drivers to load. At the point where the
screen normally changes to a 'graphical' mode ("Setup is
starting Windows") the PC reboots and the process starts
all over again. No messages or errors of any kind appear.

I had this same problem 2 years ago with my older PC, but
was able to work around it. At the time, I read an
article that mentioned problems with temperature detection
on some systems, so I disabled the Power Management and
system health information in the BIOS, then setup
completed successfully. However, on this new motherboard,
the options are a bit more limited and I cannot seem to
find any way past this problem. Average running temp of
the system after a couple hours of running was 100deg F.

The current board is an Intel D875PBZ, with a P4 2.8GHz
chip and Corsair 2-2-2-5 low latency RAM.

Thanks in advance...
.

Little update. I disabled Plug-n-Pray OS in the BIOS and
was able to get beyond the screen mentioned earlier (Setup
is starting Windows) to the drive partitioning screen,
made the partitions, and setup began to copy files the
rebooted without warning again. Since then, I've only
been able to reach the Setup menu one other time before
the system wants to reboot itself.

Are there any setup swtiches to disable XP setup from
checking the 'health' of the system before installation.
If needed, I could create a boot floppy and begin the
installation manually and use any switches to ease my
suffering.

 

[Phillips]

Hm, Intel boards are very stable, albeit not overclockable.
My take is that you have a hardware problem. Try some relaxed timings
3,4,4,8 for your memory, try to install w/ only 1 memory stick etc, try
another HDD, another monitor.
Also, unplug any device - USB, PCI, mouse, modem and what not except the
keyboard and CD Drive.
You'll have to format again the HDD and do a fresh XP install.
Michael

 

[Carl]

Thanks much for the suggestions. I did as you suggested,
to little avail. Again, I was able to get beyond
the "Setup is starting Windows" a couple of times, but the
farthest I've been was the file copy stage.
Quick question: Could a faulty processor be to blame if,
while copying files, I received 2 errors that the files
weren't copied correctly (retry allowed me to proceed) and
then I received the dreaded 'Stop' error. This processor
(Loooong story) was an open-box unit from Comp-USA (don't
say it...). Thinking of taking it back today and making
them replace it with what I originally ordered... a new,
in the box CPU.

Any thoughts on the CPU causing all of this?

 

[Phillips]

No idea... it might be the case that it does not copy correctly to HDD -
dirty OS CD, faulty CDROM, defective HDD, some loose cable, undervoltage
from PSU, even the mobo. Unless your system gets hot, I do not see why the
processor would cease to work correctly - since it passes the POST.
It is worthy to RMA the CPU just to make sure that you have a good one, but
I doubt that that will solve your problem.
If you have another older OS, try to install that one and see what you get.
If it's W98 and up, you then can try to upgrade to XP Pro.
Also, you might try some hardware testing from a diskette - memtest96 and
others.
Michael