Frozen Reformatting

First post! Upon booting up from a Windows XP installation CD, the screen blanks and the system freezes right after displaying “Setup is inspecting your computer’s hardware configuration”. The system has been known to run Windows XP perfectly before and there has no changes to the hardware. What do I do?!? Thanks in advance, noctune

Welcome!

Please understand that reformatting should always be the last ditch effort to fix a broken Windows installation - this is because so much is lost - most importantly, besides any critical personal data and documents, you end up months, or potentially years behind in security updates. Perhaps we can help fix your current problem, if you let us know why you want to reformat.

If set on reformatting, you need to make sure your drives are properly identified in the BIOS. Before attempting to format/reinstall, I would disconnect any unnecessary devices - including extra drives, and USB devices, then try again. Disconnect from the network too.

You also need to make sure all connections are tight and secure, and that you have adequate cooling.

You also might try removing all but one module of RAM. If you suspect you might have a bad module - it happens, you can test your RAM using one of the following programs. Both require you to create and boot to a bootable floppy disk or CD to run the diagnostics. Using the floppy method is generally easier and yet another reason I still include floppy drives in all my new PC builds. However, the CD method is just as effective at detecting RAM problems. Allow the diagnostics to run for several passes or even overnight. You should have no reported errors.

Windows Memory Diagnostic - see the easy to follow instructions under Quick Start Information.
or
MemTest86+ (for more advanced users) - an excellent how-to guide is available here.

One other suggestion, when you get the prompt to Press F6 to Install a Third Party Driver, press F7. This will load a different HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer). This has fixed hangs of this type for me on several computers.

these are all good ideas, also if it doesn't work, You might also want to test your HDD to verify it isn't a bad hard drive physically. I have run into numberous problems with bad HDD's not getting to the"Press Enter to install"

In addition to the other valuable recommendations made, do check that the disc you are using for the install is clean and undamaged. Some "home burnt copies" can be notoriously unreliable. Try with a different disc (the genuine article) and see how you go. Regards paws