Windows 7 installation hangs on 'Starting Windows' where the four balls should s

I have recently upgraded my system hardware and cannot seem to load Windows 7. The setup begins and loads the windows files and then when it gets to the screen 'Starting Windows', the hard drive and the DVD ROM lights stop blinking and the installation just freezes.

I tried to boot my old drive with Windows XP and it shows the windows loading screen and then, for a moment shows the Blue Screen(BSOD) and just restarts. I am however able to boot in Safe Mode.

My system specs are as follows:

Gigabyte M68MT-D3 , dual BIOS

AMD Athlon X2 250

Mercury 2gb DDR3 - 1333Mhz, 240 pin long DIMM

MSI N210 1gb DDR3 Video card

Segate 500gb SATA


Any help in this regard is appreciated.

Thanks

It may help your situation if you mentioned exactly what it is you upgraded. If it was the memory then Win 7 does not like the way some memory modules relate to the motherboard resulting in a blue screen. This is sorted by trying other Brands of RAM until the issue is resolved.

Whatever it was you upgraded restore the hardware to its previous configuration and see if the problem remains. The upgrade has to be eliminated as the source of your trouble.

You recently upgraded some hardware, then update your bios-
many components wont work as it should when paired with something older . a bios update normally resolves this issue.

Ok so we have two OS's pulling the same stunt right on load up time. That makes me wonder if the GPU is running as it should. The fact that XP can boot in Safe Mode indicates the failure occurs when XP or Win 7 try to load a certain driver. When this Driver is loaded it tries to add functionality to a device that causes the OS to BSOD. The most likely suspect is the Graphics Card when it tries to step out of VGA mode.

Another possible scenario is that when the GPU tries to switch over from VGA mode it places a demand on the Power Supply that the PSU can't deliver due to a fault. This would cause the Card to crash.

1) Check the PSU and make sure the voltages are all good.
2) Check the GPU and eliminate it from the list of suspects
3) I also suspect the RAM at this stage. Try removing one Dimm. If it doesn't work then try swapping that Dimm out.

Check the PSU before anything because if this is faulty it has the potential to damage other components in your system. Dont worry about the BIOS at this stage. If you are not clear on how to do it take it in to have it done.