new computer. new problem

hi.
i recently purchased a computer by ordering parts from online vendors.
i've got

asus p4s533 mb
pentium 4 2.0ghz northwood
samsung 512mb pc2100 ddr
geforce 2 64mb
wd 60 gig hd.
and so on.

1) i've assembled the pc and it turned on fine.
2) i fdisked and formatted my hd.
3) booted from win98 startup disk.
4) ran win 98 setup.
5) passed disk check.
6) during window's install screen i get "error"
7) i forget what it said but window's installer quits and reboots.
8) i get same error after reboot.
9) i tried turning my pc back on and off couple of times.
10) oh. it works. it installed window98 se.
11) everything works. umm....

so....i tried to install windows xp.

1) fdisk and formated
2) ran xp setup
3) setup won't even run.
4) um.....it says setup up cannot run in dos mode.???
5) it was a full version not an upgrade.
6) i even tried my friend's xp disk. same thing.

unfortunately, i don't have spare parts to test with.
is it mb? is it mem? is it hd?
is there a program that test hardware integrity?
please help.
thanks.

See Performing a Clean Install of Windows XP for step by step instructions and resources in installing WinXP.

thanks for your reply.
but that was not i wanted to know.
i think there's something wrong with
my newly built system.
i wanted to know if there is a way
or a software to track down a problem
without replacing each and every part.

when i try to install a new os, it has errors.
i reboot computer couple of times and it will
install without a problem.
i'm pretty sure that it's caused by a defective
memory chip but don't have a spare part to
prove it.

thanks again for your reply.
bye~

* my heart goes out for those people who died in Bali bombing.
job well done by our government. when will george bush stop?
9-11, anthrax, dc sniper and now bali.
co-operation with israel government.

Have you checked all the features in the motherboard bios are set correctly?

And do you have a power supply that is recommended to run a p4

I had a similar problem after I upgraded, in my case to an Abit KT7A and GeForce 2 64Mb.

I could install W98, W2K and various Linux distros, but XP just froze up at an early stage, before install proper started.

I thought it was a Ram problem, but swopping made no difference.

I got advice to flash the Mobo BIOS to the latest, which I did with no improvement.

I found out a BIOS uograde was available for the GeF2 card (a Siluro in my case) so I installed that. XP then loaded with no problem!

Don't know if this'll solve your prob, but worth trying.

thanks for your info.
i was able to get my hands on my friend's computer so
i tried replacing every parts. no luck.
new video card, new memory, even new hard drive.....
doesn't work.
ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
i flashed mobo to newest bios and damn thing finally works.
i'm not gonna investigate any deeper cause
i already spent enough time on this machine this week.
no mas problemos amigos. gracias.

I'm pleased you eventually solved it.

i think there is no relation to the co-operation with israel. shame you even bothered to mention it. shame........

Indeed, this is no place for inflamatory political declarations but for technical discussions.

Remember, this is an international community. Please respect each other's sensitivities.

Well spoken, 83bj60.

Thank you.