Basically, I'm trying to install WinXP Pro, but the PC keeps crashing during the
drive formatting stage. I tried SWAPPING the RAM module with another one, and
after crashing once, it finished formatting (so I'm not sure if it was just
luck, or if the new RAM made a difference), but setup said
it was unable to copy "driver.cab" (although I've recently used the
installation CD on other computers, and it worked just fine), and after pressing F3 to quit, the computer seemed to have a fit, where it rapidly turned off/booted up a few times before not booting up at all. Throughout all
this it has been quite rare that the computer actually boots up (and when it
doesn't, there aren't any beeps at all). Any idea what's causing the crashes
and failure to boot up? My specs, as well as a more verbose and complete
history of the problem, are as follows


Since I can't get into windows, I can't give you a DX diag, but from what I can
see in the case, my specs are:

HDD:
Maxtor STM3160212A
Motherboard: BIOStar nForce2 M7NCD
Original memory: VM 512MB DDR PC400
Current memory: Nanya 256MB DDR-333Mhz
PSU: FSP Group Ltd ATX-300
Video card: GeForce 4 MX440
CPU: Beyond that it's a P4, I can't say, due to an insane heatsink attachment
design making it pretty much impossible to get the heatsink off.

I recently received a PC with a number of problems. Originally it had WinXP Home installed on it, and was frequently freezing and then crashing a few minutes after starting up. I also got PNF List Corrupted and IRQL Not Less or Equal errors. Since I was intending to reformat the HDD to do a fresh install of XP Pro on it anyway (plus the previous owner had left his files on it), I decided to go ahead and do it. Setting the CD to boot first and then getting into the setup screen took several tries due to the crashing, which probably should have served as a bit of a warning not to do the format, but I guess I missed it. A short while after getting to the formatting stage, it crashed again. After several unsuccessful formats, I tried swapping the RAM. Unfortunately, it seemed to reset the boot sequence, and it wouldn't let me into the BIOS to change it, meaning that to get back into setup I have to unplug the HDD, wait for it to begin booting from CD, then quickly plug  the HDD back in, which probably isn't too good for it (also, when the HDD booted first, I just got an "NTLDR not found" error. Gee, NTLDR not found? I wonder why *that* could be ). After one more crash at 98% formatted, it finished, and I got the "driver.cab could not be copied" error I mentioned earlier. However, after pressing F3 to quit the computer seemed to have a fit where it rapidly turned off/booted up a few times before not booting up at all. Any idea what's causing the crashes and/or the failure to boot? One of my friends thought it might be the CPU overheating, but since the temp sensor said it was around 40C, that's probably not it. Swapping the RAM *seems* to have helped with the crashes, but it did nothing for the booting. I'm guessing the motherboard's faulty, but I'm hoping it isn't.A motherboard fault would be my guess. I'd try and rule the other hardware out by testing it in another machine if you have one spare.Borrow a KNOWN working PSU of the same or greater wattage and swap it in there to see if it will complete an install.
Next thing to check would be the drive...you should DLoad the free diagnostics from the manuf. site and run them.
Then you can DLoad and run MemTest to check the RAM...let it run at LEAST a few hours...

Clean that CD off with a soft lint free cloth as well...sounds like it has gotten a lot of use.It is most likely hardware, but just to cover all of the bases is that a real Windows CD that says Microsoft all over it?

Be sure and check that RAM as Patio said but do one stick at a time, then all together. www.memtest86.org.