Paulyp4groups: just curious- was your version of XP an OEM version on a pre- built computer? i had a similar problem . i was trying to install a new harddrive in order to reformat original HDD for another computer. every time i installed, i got to the blue XP screen- asking for computer name- and then it hung. every time. for 5 installs. called eMachines, four different answers- final one worked. had to to do an XP repair with another (retail) version of XP . it seems that OEM versions of XP tack something on the OEM HDD that acts like a key and lock . if the lock is changed, HDD, then the key ,XP, wont turn. i could be totally wrong, but thats how i understood it. hope you were able to solve your problem- i know mine drove me nuts for a week!
