Fresh XP Install Hangs and Crashes

[terrillp]

Ok here is what i have attached to , plugged into my computer:

**GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
**Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
**Thermaltake W0106RU 700W Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version Power Supply 100 - 240 V CE, CB, TUV, FCC, UL, CUL, and BSMI certified
** G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
** SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner
** Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
** GIGABYTE GV-NX73G256D-RH GeForce 7300GS 512MB(256MB on Board) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
** PS/2 Keyboard US Layout

I'm pretty sure thats about it.

My issue is that i have been attempting to install windows xp (integrated SP2 or SP3, have both cds) and the installation has begun to hang up at 34 minutes remaining and then goes kaput. The computer either shuts down or restarts, seems to be tempermental.

I have run memtest86+ with my ubuntu cd and no errors after a whole evening of letting it run and seagates hdd tools haven't detected any errors when running multiple "Long Test"s

One thing that i have noticed is that the hdd sounds like its winding up at the 34 minute part and then failing which has led me to believe that it might be a problem with my hdd or windows not liking it. It is on the windows compatibility list so i know it's not a blatant issue.

I have searched around for help and similar posts but i've had no success with the listed suggestions.

Thanks for any responses.

-Patrick T.

[glc]

That ram is way too fast for that processor - twice as fast, to be specific.

Is your SATA controller running in native or AHCI mode?

If you are not using a genuine Windows CD, try one. You may have marginal burns.

[terrillp]

Oh, i was under the impression that the FSB on the CPU was what i wanted for the speed on my ram. If i was mistaken, thank you for clearing that up.

Secondly, i have gone into the bios and have told it to disable ahci mode since i'm not installing vista.

Thanks for that speedy reply.

[glc]

You can run AHCI, but you will need the AHCI drivers on a floppy to install XP.

Intel processors are quad pumped, ram is double pumped. The exact match ram for that processor is DDR2-533, but you can go one or two steps faster - I generally use DDR2-800 ram for 1066 bus processors and DDR2-667 for 800 bus. Trying to run a 2:1 ratio like you are may be causing instability. Try manually setting your ram down to 667 or 800.

[terrillp]

ok sounds good, ill give that a whirl and let you know what becomes of it

[terrillp]

hmmm that didnt seem to solve the problem and the mobo did not come with sata drivers on a floppy, drivers are on the cd

[glc]

The drivers have to be copied to a floppy - I don't know how Gigabyte does it but Asus has a floppy maker on the autorun menu when you insert the DVD in any XP computer.