Computer won't boot from hard drive, just restarts

[marci93]

I was attempting to reinstall windows xp. I put in the cd, formatted the hard drive, it copied the files, and then it is supposed to restart the computer so it can continue with the second part of the installation. You are supposed to take out the cd and boot from the hard drive at this point. When i start the computer it goes through the first screen, and the second screen, but it restarts the computer before windows can come up. I have tried to boot directly from the hard drive, but it does the same thing. I don't know what to do and I need help.
Thank you.

[caperjack]

open the computers case and check for dust/dirt buildup on the processor fan/heatsinc

also try leaving in the cd.

[marci93]

i used the dust remover, but it still does the same thing...
still, thanks for the help.
The computer reboots at exactly the same time each time. The hard drive makes some weird clicking noise, then it restarts. I don't think this is a hard drive problem though because I did the first part of the installation with two separate hard drives and they both did the same thing.

[caperjack]

try it but leave the cd in the drive after the first reboot ,make sure you don't hit any key to boot to cd the second time around .
why are you reinstalling winxp were you having problems