XP install freezes on A7N266-C

[Ketxxx]

Title says it all folks. It just freezes. This happens both when I disconnect the HDDs so it attempts booting from CD (boot order is fuxed up on this board, it goes FDD>HDD>CD, an u cant change it, hence why I have to disconnect the HDDs) I've also made XP boot floppies and the install still freezes at the exact same point, just after its finished loading all the files an theres that message at the bottom of the screen that says something like "Setup is loading Windows" I've done just about all I can do, I've set RAM voltage to 2.7v and changed CPU voltage to 1.8v in case the board was undervolting, updated to the latest official BIOS then tried the beta as the latest official didnt help anything (niether has the beta)

Anyone have any ideas?

Spec:
Asus A7N266-C
256MB PC2700 @ 2.7v
XP2200+ @ 1.8v
80GB WD HDD
60GB Maxtor HDD

 

[malware]

Am...you're trying to install windows without the HDD connected?! because you can't run the install CD with this boot order, am I right?
You have a BOOT tab in your BIOS which lets you choose the boot order of four drives...so you should set them right and try installing windows with the hdd connected.
Also what's the IDE configuration? pri and sec hard drives -> primary ide, optical drive -> secondary ide ? Look for the HDD jumper configuration also.

 

[Ketxxx]

Duh, obviously I have reconnected the HDDs when I tried fooling the system (let it do the HDD check, so as far as its concerned they are there, quickly pulling the molex so it then boots from CD, then reconnecting the molexs) When I say boot order is fuxed I mean truely fuxed, its pre-determined and you cannot change the order. Its just how Asus, in their "wisdom" decided was a smart boot order :\

 

[malware]

That's just not right, I've had the A7N266 and I just opened the manual pdf on my PC...there's a boot option in the bios and I remember it worked fine with me.

You mean this tab is not presented in your bios at all, or it doesn't work when you save the new boot configuration?
I'm almost sure that your problem comes after the plug out/plug in hdd power part. The hdd is not detected as device during boot up/boot table.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Have you tried hitting F7 to disable ACPI before "Setup is loading windows" ?

 

[Ketxxx]

I'll try disabling both the CD-ROM and HDD as boot devices and see if it helps any. If that doesnt work I'll try changing from APIC to PIC. Anyone got any other ideas?

ed- on a seperate note I'm in Chaz' room doin this an its scary.. she has LOTS of pink things an a bunch of almost nekkid posters of guys...

 

[Ketxxx]

Problem solved, changing to PIC and disabling the HDD as a boot device until after the install worked.