Hi i have just built a new system and had a problem booting the screen. that is solved thankfully. but now when i try to do a clean install of xp it stops at "setup is loading files (windows executive)" and will not go any further. i have formatted the hard drive and partitioned it. i have checked the ram with memtest. any ideas as to what it could be im pulling my hair out!!!! ive been working on this god dam system for 3 days straight now and im not even getting paid for my labour

specs are:
msi k9vgm-v MoBo
2gb kingston ram
maxtor 160gb hdd
msi gfx card 256mb 7300gt
Optiarc AD-7200S 20X DVD
AMD Athlon 64 Socket AM2 LE-1640 (2.6GHz)
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Can you try use another DVD/CD rom?

What the hell is Optiarc?

If I recall correctly, Microsoft has a few knowledge base (KB) articles on this problem. Go to their knowledge base section and search on some of the terms you provided. Sorry can't provide you with the actual links. Perhaps someone else would do that work.

You should also remember that memtest does not test ALL the RAM in a system. There is an amount that is never tested by the sophisticated tests of the program.

I have read of install failures where memory tests passed yet when the RAM was replaced anyway, the install worked.

Not saying that's the problem, just some data for your consideration.

optiarc had good reviews from people that bought it and it was cheap. its a budget system (which i hate doing) i always advise people to spend little more but peeps just cant afford alot these days.

ill try again swapping components to see what i can come up with. im just at my wits end with it.

thanks for the replys
lou