windows doesnt always start....

[lbz194]

OK i think the easiest way to do this is show you what i did step by step:

1. Reformatted and Installed Windows XP with monitor plugged into radeon 8500 agp video card.

2. Loaded windows service pack 2.

3. Windows would no longer boot. It would run all the system checks and everything in dos, but would hang just before the xp logo screen.

4. Tried booting in safe mode. Didnt work.

5. Tried to disable onboard video in bios. Found no setting to do so.

6. Tried to load windows with monitor plugged into onboard adapter. No such luck. (worked on my girlfriends computer, just had to wait a minute in darkness because agp card was default boot device)

7. Reinstalled windows, didnt install sp2 right away, but had same problems when i loaded motherboard agp drivers.

8. Removed agp card, started windows with onboard adapter. success!

9. Tried to load ati drivers, but failed because card wasnt inserted.

10. Disabled onboard video and restarted using agp adapter. Failed.

11. Started with onboard adapter, disabled agp drivers and restarted with agp adapter. Success!

12. Windows then re-found and installed the agp drivers and restarted. Failed.

13. Started windows with onboard adapter, loaded new motherboard vga drivers.

14. Restarted using agp card. Success!

15. Loaded ati display drivers. Success!

16. Restarted computer. Failed. Had the same hanging issue.

17. Hit the reset button and restarted windows. Success!

Now I have to restart the computer usually a couple of times to get it to display that xp logo finish starting up. I know it isnt a hardware problem because everything worked fine before I reformatted and reinstalled. My guess is that it is a vga or agp driver problem. Please help me, im lost.

[lbz194]

here is another thing i just noticed when i went over there on my lunch break. When i install something new on the computer, i.e. zone alarm, it will not restart at all with the agp card. I have to take the card out and use the onboard adapter until windows finishes the installation. Then, i can re-insert the card and it will work again.