I did the test, it passed, windows XP CD in drive, started the upgrade,
got all the way to installing devices (counts down to 34 minutes) then
reboots, continues over and over. does not freeze, access from mouse,
keyboard still active.

any ideas? I have data on the drive I need to keep, or at the very
least, would like to keep. tried changing the boot up to go directly to
CD from bios, didnt change anything, always comes back with a "setup is
restarting" message.

on reboot sequence is
bios, then windows xp pro screen, then setup is being restarted screen,
then windows xp screen with collecint info on left (done(, dynamic
update (done), preparing installation (done), installing windows (setup
will complete in approx 39 min) still highlighted in red, the message on
the right, scroll through various things, the setup in apprx 39 min
changes to installing devices and counts down from 37 throu to 34
minutes, green bar shows movement, and then the keyboard blinks, the
mouse icon blinks, and the system reboots, and goes back to the same
spot.

it never tells me it had an error, nor does it say it is missing files,
etc.

any hel would be greatly appreciated.