Major problem with XP Pro Services

[Sound Mind]

I was going to just straight to Microsoft and ask, until they told me they'd need to charge me $35 to just send them an e-mail. Absolutely ridiculous. Bearing in mind they'd just tell me to reformat no matter how much I emphasize that I have and don't want to again, I felt better about coming here first anyway.

Anyhow, here's my lengthy problem:

I built a new computer. 3.2gHz processor, 160GB WD IDE hard drive, two DVD drives, floppy drive, no OC, Biostar P4M800 Pro M7 motherboard, 512mb 240-pin memory. A respectable econo-box. Total build cost me only $400.

I also installed Windows XP Pro on it. Now, the first thing to note is that I installed XP from the exact same CD I used to install it on this build I'm typing from now. It's installed flawlessly once, so I really don't understand this problem now.

I realized XP was acting funky after the first install on this new build after a couple days. I went ahead and repartitioned and reformatted and and reinstalled XP thinking it was a little glitch. But the problem persisted. And I soon learned what the problem was.

Services that are set to automatic are not starting up. I have about 20 or so services that are set to automatic, and compared with my 100% functional build here to go off of, everything is set up as it should be. The problem is just that they don't start up anyway.

The first time I installed it, I was having an IMPOSSIBLE time networking the thing. I bought a wireless networking card that just wouldn't connect, and even a WIRED connection to my router wouldn't move. And after I updated to SP2, all my connections just disappeared anyway. I attributed this to a botched install, but I later realized this is because the Windows Zero Configuration Service failed to automatically start. Because as soon as I manually started it, bam. Internet connected instantly.

Other services like Themes and Windows Installer and BITS also fail to start automatically, despite being set to.
Plug and Play, Windows Audio, and RPC are the only automatic services that start as they should.

As I said, I reformatted once, and I encountered the same issue the second time. I just now did a non-destructive reinstall. All it did is make me have to install SP2 and all my updates again. Nothing productive.

But the error did occur before SP2, so it's not an SP2 thing. Because I had my networking nightmares before SP2, and those nightmares merely persist. And yes, my copy of XP is genuine.

Following this thread I found, I tried:
•Deleting all my accounts and starting new ones. Nothing solved.
•Seeing if DEP was set up "in a bad way." Nothing out of the ordinary.
•Reformat and non-destructive reinstall
•Checked if Alerter and Messenger were set to Automatic (they were actually disabled, which was interesting, but that didn't solve anything, either)
•Installed UPHClean. Nothing. Like this gent, even that service wouldn't start automatically.

It's a shame the thread got closed, because I felt like I was getting close.

But that's why I'm here. Does anybody know any other good things to try that might fix this issue? Is there a possible hardware issue that could be causing this? Because all my hardware seems to work perfectly, but if this XP disc installed fine on one computer, why not the next?
Or are there some more tweaks that could be done?

Thank you in all in advance.

[Sound Mind]

Also interesting note, there are a lot of other things that aren't available. Such as any help files, and interestingly enough, msconfig. If I do the Start Menu -> Run msconfig deal, it tells me it can't find it. I can find it myself in ServicePackFiles or whatever that folder is called in my Windows directory, and I played around in there, too, but still no luck. Of course, all of this was done as the administator.

This computer is a gift for somebody. If this were just my computer, I could tolerate having to manually turn on all the services at start-up. I never turn my computer off. But this is a gift, so I need to get it working 100%, and before Saturday, too. My next few days will be very taxing, I can see.

[glc]

Unfortunately, it's against the EULA to install XP on more than one computer. You need to remove it from the other computer to stay legal. I have to point this out due to forum rule 9. I am not saying that a new copy of XP will cure your problems, but we can't really assist with XP issues on an illegal installation. I'll leave this thread open only because it's a reasonable expectation that you will be wiping the old computer once the new one is stable.

I don't really see where hardware would have anything to do with this, but the fact that it's an econobox has me a bit concerned. My feelings as a professional builder are listed below:

You are using a low end Via chipset board for an Intel processor. Biostar is not too bad, but I have never had decent stability using *any* Via board with Intel processors. Yes, I've had to use them, but I'm not happy with the results.

Low cost power supplies scare me. You didn't list the brand and model of yours, but you may be using one that is not putting out clean power.

Generic low cost ram can be nothing but trouble. Again, you didn't list the brand.

Bottom line? If it's not software, it's hardware - it can't be anything else. I know that's a pretty broad statement.

[Sound Mind]

My gut tells me it's the memory. I got a cheapy $49 stick of DDR2 of NewEgg out of haste. I just ran out and got a stick of Simpletech 1GB. It's no Kingston, but it was on sale where I work. It's at least not the lowest common denominator.

I don't think it's the PSU. It's only a Coolmax, but on TigerDirect, there were very many 5-star reviews and no bad reviews. I bought a PSU tester alongside it, and it tested great, too.

Now, when I'd check the system properties, it always did used to tell me 512mb of RAM as it should've. But each time when I tried installing Windows, I'd get some sort of error saying "Setup was unable to verify drive C. Your computer may not have enough memory to examine the drive, or your Windows XP CD may contain corrupted files." I can continue anyway, but still.

Could that be because the partition wasn't made by Windows, but rather by some WD software I booted off of? Or, would that be because the memory was crap? Or did the CD just rot inside it's wallet?

And I intend to uninstall XP off this computer and replace it with my old Windows 98. I miss the simplicity of it.

[glc]

Coolmax power supplies are NOT good quality. You can't trust user reviews. PSU testers don't test for stability under load. Test your ram:

www.memtest.org

[Sound Mind]

I am now broke due to the Christmas season. I wrote a batch file that starts all the automatic services for me and put it in the StartUp folder in the Start Menu under All Users, and it makes it work just fine.

If problems keep occuring with the build, I'll just replace parts as we go. But for now, I don't see many issues beyond what I "fixed." And a 400W PSU is a very generous unit for this PC, so I doubt it'll ever go under too heavy a load.