CAUSE
This behavior may occur if your computer contains a hardware component that is either damaged or is incompatible with Windows XP.
RESOLUTION
To troubleshoot this behavior:
Warning Do not complete the following procedure unless you are very familiar with internal computer hardware removal and installation. The hardware components in a computer are very sensitive to static electricity. For information about the correct handling of computer components, contact your computer manufacturer. For information about how to contact computer hardware manufacturers, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K
60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P
60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z
Shut down your computer, and then remove all the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) devices.
Restart your computer:
If Windows starts successfully, shut down your computer, and then reinstall the PCI devices one at a time, starting Windows after the installation of each device. When you install a device that causes Windows to generate the behavior that is described in the "Symptoms" section of this article, remove that device, and then continue to install the other PCI devices.
If Windows does not start successfully, remove one or more of the memory modules that are installed in your computer. Leave enough RAM for your computer to start and run Windows XP.
The RAM that is required to run Windows XP is 128 megabytes (MB). The minimum is 64 MB and the maximum is 4 gigabytes (GB).
For example, if two 256-MB memory modules are installed in your computer, remove one of the memory modules. If Windows starts successfully, shut down the computer, and then reinstall the RAM modules, one at a time, starting Windows after the installation of each RAM module. When you install a module that causes Windows to generate the behavior that is described in the "Symptoms" section of this article, remove that module, and then continue to install the other RAM modules.
Determine if the PCI devices in your computer are compatible with Windows XP. To do so, visit the following Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/hwdq/hcl