So I have a computer, that has oddly taken a bad turn... it won't finish a complete boot into windows, but makes it into safe mode just fine... I've removed startup items and it does the same thing. I've removed devices and it does the same thing.
Then I tried reinstalling windows. It does the file copy part just fine, and then it tries to recognize all the devices, plug and play, etc. It fails at this point everytime. Just sits there and hangs.
Initially, I thought it was the sound card, because when loading windows, it got to the point where it was loading the sound drivers and then it would hang. So I removed it. It booted maybe twice just fine, and then starting having the same symptoms. However, it's now back to not loading windows properly.
From all this, I have deduced that it's the motherboard and the inability of the OS to recognize some of the hardware. It's Win 98 SE running a 750 MHz PIII. I know it's not the drive because I've thrown it in another machine and it boots and detects all the hardware off of that machine just fine.
Can someone just verify my thought processes? I can provide more info if necessary.