Windows XP Very Intriguing Booting Problem-Looking for simple solution

Hi and Welcome to the Forum,

I read through your issues and have some comments for you.

First of all, that dc7700 desktop is older than 6 years old; it is at least 8 years old, as all windows PCs that came with XP originally installed are 8-13 years old. You can check the Build Date in your BIOS or the label on the outside case of the PC or on the bottom. It can also be easily checked by running the SYSTEM INFORMATION command fromt the Start-->Run menu.

It won't make much of a difference, as my guess is that your Motherboard is toast, but even more likely it's your hard drive. Hard drives are the number 1 cause of failure in ALL Windows computers, desktops and laptops alike. The first thing I would recommend is to replace your Hard drive and reinstall from XP Factory Media (such as a HP restore disc or discs). This will solve your problem about 80% of the time. If it does not, refer to more detail troubleshooting below. If the problem continues after replacing the Hard drive, it's a very high certainty that it's a failed Motherboard; as the inability of the BIOS to hold system date/time even with a new CMOS battery is very indicative of.

ADDITIONAL TROUBLESHOOTING DETAIL:
Test your Hard drive, then your RAM, and then other specific diagnostics targeting the Motherboard. You really only need to do this if you are trying to narrow down with more certainty the failed component. My test above will give you a reasonable reason to either replace the aging faulty Hard drive or Motherboard, and if they BOTH fail, it's probably time to junk that system and replace it with something more modern. Bear in mind that HP's built-in diagnostics are not sufficient for this process. They are only a rough indicator, not meant to ascertain every possible failure of complex devices such as Motherboard and hard drive.

Start here:
(1) Test RAM memory. Download free MEMORY TEST* test via Google and test each RAM stick individually a minimum of 8 passes. If MEMORY TEST returns any errors, that RAM stick has failed and must be replaced. Link Removed Repeat MEMORY TEST on each stick until all sticks pass. Then reinsert all sticks into your computer and run MEMORY TEST again for the 8 passes. Any failures reported by MEMORY TEST must be corrected by replacing RAM with matched-pairs or all sticks with new until MEMORY TEST RETURNS NO ERRORS.Link Removed Once done, your RAM has passed move onto Step #3.
[*note: I refer to MEMORY TEST above, which should be "MEMTEST", but I cannot due to reformatting of the Text "MEMTEST" on this forum. So please substitute MEMORY TEST for "MEMTEST"].

(2) Test your HARD DRIVE. On a PC that's nearly 5 years old as is yours, it is VERY likely your hard drive is failing or has failed and that's why you can't do a SYSTEM RESTORE. Link RemovedLink Removed Hard Drives are the #1 failed component in both desktops and laptops across all makes/models.Link Removed Download the free SEATOOLS drive diagnostic from the link in my Signature below and run BOTH short and long tests on your drive. If SEATOOLS returns any errors your drive has FAILED and must be REPLACED. Link Removed If this is the case, you will need to start Data Recovery to get all your Personal Data copied off that drive onto Link Removed.[Also, if you have a Toshiba, Hitachi, or HGST drive, SEATOOLS won't test those drives so you will have to go to WD's website wd.com and download the appropriate diagnostic, either DLG or HGST to test those 3 types of drives. Additionally if you have a SSD boot drive, you will need to download TRIM via google to test SSD drive]. [sounds like you already did a backup to external Media--just for your information].
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Read the above section on RAM and Hard Drive testing carefully. You will also need to download the free IMGburn Program also in my signature and run that program which burns the ISO file you download onto a DVD blank disc. This can be daunting the first time you try this, so may need to get help on this part from a tekky friend. Link Removed
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It is very important to run MY tests here, not any other ones recommended to you by well-meaning friends. Once you complete these tests and determine that your RAM and Hard drive are good or have been found faulty and those components replaced, you can start in on testing the Motherboard. The best tool for this is something called the ULTIMATE BOOT CD (UBCD) available for free at UBCD.com. However, these tools are mostly written in Linux and are intended for experienced very advanced computer users; specifically Techs and Engineers. There are over 300 programs on this one disc; and just creating the UBCD boot disc by itself is often considered a basic competency skill for Techs. It can take days or weeks to do this. It's easiest to try and borrow one or buy a copy from your local Computer Tech who works in a repair shop or from a University IT Tech. This being said, once you have made this disc or borrowed/bought one elsewhere, you can go into the Main Menu and select the CPU and BIOS sections where you can run multiple tests from each submenu. You'll notice that the MEMORY section contains the MEMTEST and other Memory test programs. The HARD DRIVE section contains many numerous programs to help you diagnose repair your Hard drive including the SEATOOLS program I asked you to run above. Be wary of the programs that allow you to INSPECT/RESET/REPAIR the BIOS; do NOT attempt to use those. They can easily brick your laptops' Motherboard if you don't know what you're doing there. If you get any further failures from either the CPU or BIOS tests as mentioned above, your Motherboard has failed and must be replaced. If this is the case, and you've already replaced 1 or more faulty RAM sticks and the Hard drive, it's probably time for the junkyard on a laptop that old. Even if you can repair it, it's effectively reached the end of it's useful life and is time to retire it. Windows7 laptops and netbooks can be had on ebay for around $100 US that will run circles around this laptop anyway.

Let us know how it turns out.
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>