Bought hubby a new barebones with
M4A785-M MOTHERBOARD and AMD ATHLON II X2 240 2.8GHZ AM3 CPU

We have installed our older
HITACHI HDT725032VLA360
PNY GFORCE 8800GTX
ULTRA ATX 850 POWER SUPPLY

When turning it on it will beep once, show the motherboard screen, try to start XP, stop and go to the safe mode screen.

It will only run in safe mode, not normal or last known good configuration. (It will repeat the above if we try normal or last known).

I really don't know if this is a hardware or software issue.
Thank you for your expertise!

Ran Avast with no changes. 1. Reinstall. WINDOWS XP is designed to be built on the machine it is to run on. It doesn't transfer well from one machine to another. I think you're saying you moved the existing operating system (hard drive) to a new motherboard and CPU.

You may need to perform a "repair" installation or a "new" installation of Windows XP.

I'm surprised you're able to boot to "Safe Mode". What was your old configuration. Maybe it's close enough to patch up. Maybe someone else has some thoughts on this...

You might be able to modify your "boot.ini" file to add additional invocation lines for the operating system to permit you to attempt booting with different versions of the "Hal.dll" and possibly "ntoskrnl.exe" (see the "/hal" and "/kernel" boot.ini option switches within Custom Boot Menu in Windows XP).

2. Blue Screen of Death (BSoD). Is there a BSoD when you attempt to boot normally? You may have to disable auto restart in order to see it.

Use the <F8> function key during system startup to access the Windows Advanced Options menu. Tap the key once or TWICE per second as you startup the computer (or immediately after POST completes and screen flashes black prior to displaying Windows XP logo with its processing BAR display).

From the Windows Advanced Options menu, use the up/down arrow keys to select the "Disable automatic restart on system failure" and hit Enter.

Hopefully the machine will stop on a BSoD. Record and post back with the "exact" error message text and/or numbers plus any error string or software module (file name) it might name.

3. Windows XP Install CD. Do you have the installation files available?As an alternative, your can try a "repair" install.
This is NOT from the Recovery Console.
Proceed with an install, if it finds an existing Windows XP installation, C:\WINDOWS, it will ask you if you want to repair the install.
Later on, you may need to activate XP again. Or something like that.In simple terms - if you took the hd from an old system and put it in the new system you need to reinstall the Operating System. Your best bet is to boot to the XP CD, format, and start from scratch. A repair install MAY work, but a clean install with a new system is best.You didn't say (and we didn't ask) whether you're using a "retail" or "OEM" license for that Windows XP installation.

Anyone have a link for the Windows XP OEM licensing terms?

You also should find the Windows XP "PRODUCT Key" before attempting a reinstall. You may need it.

(Have you heard about Linux?)OEM Liscensing...Thank you patio. Seems to be a lot of information... I guess that's a good thingHere is another.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824125
Quote

Users who run a Microsoft Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) operating system may upgrade or REPLACE most of the hardware components on the computer and still maintain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software provided by the OEM, with the exception of an upgrade or a replacement of the motherboard.