Ok so I have a big problem here. I am trying to reinstall XP from my XP boot CD's that came with my PC. I reset my bios to boot from cdrom first and the loading goes fine, using all three discs and it prompts me to remove the last disc from the drive, and the drive opens. I remove the disc from the drive and it proceeds to boot, but freezes on a blank screen, but my monitor is actually "on" because the power light usually flashes if there is no signal, and it is steady. I have my onboard video connected and no video card in a slot. If I reset my PC, it boots to the screen that says "start in safe mode/start windows normally..." so I choose start windows normally and the countdown timer on the bottom freezes and it sticks there. It also freezes when trying to boot to safe mode and any other option there is.
System Specs:
Intel 845eGV mobo (socket 478)
Celeron 2.8Ghz
1GB SuperTalent PC2700
120GB Western Digital 7200RPM HDD
Onboard Video
Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU
Lite-On 56x CD-Rom
No Floppy Drive (Floppy boot is disabled in BIOS)

Bios Boot order:
CD-Rom
HDD-0
Disabled

Any clue what is going on? I would try a different XP restore disc but i dont have a CD key since it is an OEM version of XP.

Any help is appreciated!

Check your RAM, if you have 2 sticks, pull one, and try to boot. If that doesn'y work, try the other stick. If that doesn't work, see if you can borrow a stick from a friend.

I don't think it's the ram, otherwise it should freeze before it hits the "Start windows normally" since RAM is bios check. But it's certainly still possible. Check to make sure all your pci chips, ram are seated properly. And make sure everything is connected nicely.

I'm pretty sure it's the install. Did you have any major hardware change since you bought the PC. If you are reinstalling windows, you may have to use the original parts of the pc. Because windows may be thinking that you are trying to install this oem windows onto a pc that's not the originally purchased one. Even though you just changed some parts.

I put the oem ram back in, and only have stock parts in right now and same thing. occasionally when i boot it will beep very quickly and say something like "Disk boot sector will be changed, Press Y to confirm" or something similar. If i formatted the HDD using a friends pc, would that help?

Oh and also, when it gives me the option to either 1)Reinstall XP or 2)Boot from CDrom or whatever the 2nd choice is, every time i hit "2" it says "Bad Command or File Name" and i have to restart to hit 1. Ps. Is there any way to get a CD key from Microsoft? cuz im afraid if i reformat my HDD and try to clean install with the discs, it wont work and i will be left with a worthless 800 dollar investment. ( i dont want to have to buy another copy of XP)

What's wrong with your own CD key?

There is no CD key on the discs or anything that came with the PC. Its an eMachines that came from TigerDirect.com. Unless the "Product Key" on the back is what i need...nevermind lol, there it is. Sorry about that, I didn't even look for the sticker on the back!

could formatting the HDD and trying the same discs help?

any ideas? I really need my PC back up and running. eMachines tech support is pretty lame

If you got the key and there is no important data on xp partition, then try if reformatting helps.

Thats my plan for tonight, I finally located someone with a floppy drive (Im at college so about 95% of students use notebooks) so I am going to borrow the drive and try the 6 disk windows setup too, im pretty sure that will work. I will post back when the situation is resolved