If I understand correctly, it's the repair-type install that keeps hanging up. Before you go any further, can you do this:
1)
Rescue your important stuff first Take the hard drive out of the computer and put it into a different computer to rescue your stuff off of it. To do that, you'll need a computer that has Win2000 or WinXP so it can read the NTFS file system (assuming your 160GB is using NTFS format and not FAT32). You'll also need to take NTFS Ownership of the 160GB drive's \Documents and Settings\
username folder before you'll be allowed inside.
To take NTFS Ownership, you will need to right-click the \Documents and Settings\
username directory, choose
Properties, then the
Security tab, then click the
Advanced button and go to the
Ownership tab (
illustration of this).
Give Ownership to an account on the computer you're using to do the rescue, put a checkmark in the box for "replace owner yadda yadda," and click OK. Now you will be able to get into that folder to rescue stuff, using the account you gave Ownership to.
If you are using a WindowsXP computer to do the rescue, then in order to even
see the Security tab, boot that computer up in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key repeatedly when you know the first WinXP boot screen is about to show, the one with the scrollie bar thing.
Are we all
yet?
After doing the rescue, I would think real hard about whether I got EVERYTHING (Favorites and whatnot), then put the 160GB drive back into its home system, start a full-meal-deal Windows XP setup, not the repair style, and see what happens.
(
Tip: when you start WindowsXP Setup, get to where you see the partitions, delete them all, then
exit Windows Setup by pressing the F3 key twice. After that, start Windows Setup a second time and this time keep on going. This little extra step will keep you from having two WinXP's to choose from at startup.)
If it still doesn't work, then it may be a hardware issue. You could try using just one memory module at a time, and maybe a different low-power-draw video card if you have one. Volari's are not the most common thing in the world, so do you maybe have an old GeForce-series card you could slap in there? Or a Radeon-series card?
Just to make sure I got this right: the WD is the Master and the CD drive is the Slave
on the same cable. Is that correct? Try putting the WD into Single Drive mode by pulling its jumper off its pins, then give it
its very own cable. Put the CD drive on a different cable. Whether it's the source of the problem or not, it should help performance a bit.
Good luck and welcome to the Forums
Facebook
Twitter