Computer freezes while booting

[Jibu]

hey, I'm having an unusual problem with my computer. When the computer is booting up, it passes the "Compaq" logo and the Windows XP splash screen fine, but when the screen is supposed to go blank briefly after the splash screen, 2/3s of the time the computer doesn't pass that point.

This has only started happening since yesterday. It occurred right after I had installed a new modem into the system. I had also switched around some PCI cards to try and fix a freezing problem I was having before. I'm not sure if this is related to the problem, but I know it has been happening since I installed the modem. I tried removing all of the PCI cards (including the modem) except for the graphics card, but the problem persists. Also, I checked the hard drive LED when the screen changed from the xp splash to the blank screen (just before it is supposed to go onto the log on screen) and the LED basically stops by the time it gets to that blank screen--it may flicker every few seconds or so but that's it. When the computer boots up normally, though, the LED flickers throughout the boot. At least every other boot has been giving me this problem. I end up having to manually shut down the system and reboot again when it happens.

PLEASE help
thanks

 

[Musjunk22]

Do you have an nic installed or maybe a 802.11a,b,g wireless card installed. if you do these can interfere with eachother and you have to take out any unused devices. this problem happened to me with an emachines comp. it can also be a driver problem, try installing the driver again or get an update from the manufacturer.

 

[Jibu]

nope, I tried removing all of the pci cards (network card, modem, and tv-tuner card) The problem doesn't go away. Also, I didn't install any new drivers. Even though I installed a new modem, it is actually a replacement for the one I had, which was the same brand and model (US Robotics 5610B) The modem and other cards have never caused a problem like this before...

 

[jolancer]

boot it in safe mode and scan for virusess, and scan ur disk for errors, and might as well defrag wile ur at it.

 

[Jibu]

I tried booting in safe mode and scanning for viruses. No viruses were found (my definitions are up-to-date). I scanned my disk for errors, but no errors were found. Please help! Thanks.