Computer Blue Screens During Win XP Pro Install

[Thawk]

History: This is my Garnet rig in my rigs.
Last week my wife was on the computer and it started rebooting from no reason. It just kept looping through. The hard drive went bad (http://forums.anandtech.com/me...8&highlight_key=y). I have installed a new hard drive and started to install windows but it kept saying that it could not locate files during the first phase of the installation. Then it blue screened during each installation. I decided to flash the bios with the most current version. I thought this had worked as it allowed installation of all files during the first phase of installation but when it reboots and begins the installation where it shows the XP Pro graphics and tells you that it has 30 mins remaining it blue screens again. The message is PFN_LIST_CORRUPT. I am at a loss. Does this mean that my motherboard went South and took my hard drive with it?

 

[MrChad]

Installation issues are almost always related to RAM. Run Memtest overnight and make sure that no errors are reported.

 

[Thawk]

Memtest is running (been running for 10 hours). Looks like it has found two errors already. This test is above my technical knowledge. What are these two errors telling me? That my RAM is bad? Both sticks? Or is it testing/failing some of the onboard motherboard memory? I'll post the results of the test when finished.

 

[MrChad]

If you are getting errors, that usually means that your RAM is bad.

1. Make sure you are not overclocking. If you are, ratchet your system back to stock speeds and run the test again.
2. Remove one of the sticks and repeat the test. After it has run for an appropriate amount of time, swap the sticks and run it again. This will let you determine whether or not one or both of the sticks of RAM are bad.
3. Most quality memory offers a lifetime warranty. Contact your reseller or RAM manufacturer about obtaining an RMA.