I am having trouble loading windows. When i put in the disk of win xp, win 98 or any other it wont work. they both stop before they actually start to load. I ran a format and tried again and same problem. I suspect it may be the ram or the hard drive. Is there a program i could run to ckeck either of them?Also i am sure the discs i am using are good and compatible.
goto the hd manufacturer to download their diagnostic program. goto this link to download & run the memory tester as it is more likely a ram problem than a hd problem as i ran into a bad stick when trying to load windows. http://www.memtest86.com/
how many sticks of ram do you have? if have 2 try 1 at a time to see which is causing the problem. also if you can borrow a stick of ram from a friend & do that test to see if past or fail as could also be motherboard. try reseating the ram if you haven't to see if it might be dirty contacts on the ram or socket
Just something I would like to add, and may or may not be applicable. I have come across several instances (especially with Asrock motherboards) that if you have any card readers installed (usually USB), when you goto boot up directly from an installation disc such as XP then it hangs on the initial blue screen when it is scanning the internal storage, and by unplugging it resolves the problem. Just wanted to add that (may not be relevant, as it seems ddp has highlighted a possible memory problem)
