I'm having a pretty strange problem (let me take it from the start)
origional computer has an athlon xp 2600+
it starts kinda freezing/restarting its self. So i buy a new mobo, and an extra dr (the main reason i got the mobo is because it supports agp 8x, and had extra memory slots)
anyways. long story short this new setup is never quite right either. its got the same issue except it rarly did it.... at first Now its doing it more agian. I've managed to borrow working parts from my friends and swap out everything except the cpu so that pretty much narrows it down....
but one thing i don't get.... why does windows still run pretty damm good in safe mode.

I can run windows in safe mode with almost no problems
but i'm even having trouble getting windows to make it through the windows xp setup cd without locking up. any ideas? (i've tried 2 different windows xp cd's)

Did you do a Clean Install of XP from a Microsoft retail disk (not OEM) on the new board?

Then load the motherboard drivers?

Then load the graphics drivers?

etc.

the clean install is of xp pro from a corprate cd (i've temp installed windows xp on an old computer with that same cd)...

Originally Posted by jeff4952

but one thing i don't get.... why does windows still run pretty damm good in safe mode.

I can run windows in safe mode with almost no problems
but i'm even having trouble getting windows to make it through the windows xp setup cd without locking up. any ideas? (i've tried 2 different windows xp cd's)

Don't know if this will help in your troubleshooting but FWIW:

There are several things that happen when Windows boots in Safe Mode that differ from a standard boot:


Safe Mode does not run the autoexec.bat or config.sys files.

Most device drivers are not loaded. A device driver is the software that Windows uses to interact with a piece of hardware, such as a printer or scanner.

Instead of the normal graphics device driver, Safe Mode uses standard VGA graphics mode. This mode is supported by all Windows-compatible video cards.

Himem.sys, which is normally loaded as part of the config.sys script, is loaded with the /testmemn switch. This switch tells the computer to test the extended memory before continuing.

Safe Mode checks the msdos.sys file for information on where to find the rest of the Windows files. If it finds the files, it proceeds to load Windows in Safe Mode with the command win /d:m. If it does not find the Windows files, it will run command.com to bring up a C: prompt.

Windows boots using a batch file called system.cb instead of the standard system.ini file. This file loads the Virtual Device Drivers (VxDs) that Windows uses to communicate with the standard parts of the computer.

Windows now loads the regular system.ini file plus win.ini and Registry settings. It skips the [Boot] (except for the shell and device lines) and [386Enh] sections of system.ini and does not load or run any programs listed in win.ini.

The Windows desktop loads up in 16 colors and at a resolution of 640 x 480 with the words "Safe Mode" in each corner.

it runs better in safe mode but it still dosen't run perfect... if i leave it in safemode i might make it 6 hours of uptime. vs 1 hour normally.... not to mention the errors i'm getting when i try to install from the cd...