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We can help you with this - bookmark us for when you have bought the new kit

When you boot up your computer, insert your windows XP disc and when the BIOS starts loading there should be an extra line that will read BOOT FROM CD-ROM or something to that effect and just hit Enter. Then it'll start loading. Wait until everything is loaded, you should see another screen, hit Enter to install Windows, it will search for any previous versions of Windows XP, it should find one entitled C:\Windows... and it'll say on the top if you either want to do a Repair on the existing installation or make a fresh install. Hit the correspong key for Repair and it should do it itself. After that anything you need to do will be described and you should be able to follow the on-screen instructions without any problems.

However, I get the feeling that that's not the problem

It really sounds like there is a short on the motherboard of some sort. (Perhaps the CPU too). I wouldn't waste the money on a sound card- you can probably get a new motherboard for about the same amount of money, with onboard sound - and it should help alleviate the problem. However, reloading windows may be a necessity as well.

Have you tried contacting the motherboard company and see if they know anything about how to fix this problem or if you can get a replacement or something?

Thank you all so much for your advice and input so far.:smiley: This is really bugging me.

Since I bought this (used I might add) from my friend, I have no paper work for customer service or a replacement. Guess thats half the reason I'm so frustrated since this mother board is a complete ??? to me. Everything except for the mother board and my main Harddrive was new.

If it's the mother board, can I replace it? Can I use the same Processor and harddives or would I have to go and buy another one. I'm not too sure on how I would do that. I was searching on Newegg for a barebone system and was thinking of just rebuilding off of that.

Any Advice on what I should get or do?

I have two 512 DDR SDRAM (I think it was PC2700...)
2.00 gigahertz AMD Athlon XP
Just wondering if those are the main things I should remember (besides the AGP slot) when looking for a barebone or motherboard. I doubt I'll use the case again.

Building a computer is fun.
The basics that you need are:
-Motherboard
-CPU compatible with motherboard
-RAM (Random Access Memory) that is also compatible with motherboard
-Hard Disk Drive
-CD-Rom drive (preferably DVD)
-Floppy (if you still use floppy disks)
-Screen + Speakers

I'm sure you can re-use the same screen and speakers, your hard drive should be good, case should be fine. Now for the RAM and CPU that's a different question. You need to find out what type of RAM you have (DDR, DDR2, Dual Channel, SDRAM,...) and what socket your processor is (if you want to re-use it)

You may also wish to get a motherboard that has 1 or 2 PCIe x16 slots if you wish to make an SLi or CrossFire system later

All that information can be found with the program Everest:
- http://www.lavalys.hu/downloads/everesthome201.exe

Hope that helps you out
Cheers

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

heh, this helps alot. Any doubts or questions, you all answered or helped shed mroe light on! Maybe this nightmare will be over soon

Thanks again!

I will be referring to this site for a guide on building my new system!