XP doesn't load, XP CD doesn't either

[Hen_Dawg]

Hi
Someone I know has the following issue. It came after a major crash where she turned the system off at the back. Now XP will not load up, not from 'Start normally', safe mode or 'last know config'.
I was then suggesting to repair the boot.ini but she puts in her XP CD and it tells her to boot from CD.. She presses any key and then just gets the black screen with a small cursor and nothing after that.

So, what to try now?

 

[Hen_Dawg]

Cheers. Thought there were some tools that can boot up and fix things. I'll get her system and give that a go

 

[Hen_Dawg]

So I have spent a while on this. Ran some HD test which brought up a bad sector.
Then put an old HD of mine in there and to my disappointment it gives the same error when trying to load the Windows CD. It pop's up at exactly the same time as the original HD. 'Press any key to start windows' -> 'Windows is inspecting your hardware...' then bam, I get the screen below;



I'm running a memory test at the moment but that's not broough anything up yet. I've also switched the RAM to the other slot which didn't help.

What could this be then?

 

[Hen_Dawg]

PSU is fine, as seems the CPU seems set very firmly. My guess is heading towards the mobo as I've eliminated the HD and RAM. Suppose the CPU could still be at fault they tend not to fail as much.
Either way I think I'll tell her a new purchase is in order unless there is anything else I can try/test?

Is there a way I can find out if here OEM XP key will work with a new mobo? Or will she need to call microsoft for a replacement?