Hi Rob.
At this point I can only exclude one problem at a time, and each modification requires money in a form or another. Not my favorite approach, but that.s how it is.
I think I just ˇˇresolvedˇˇ the desktop pc, as I did try installing windows xp sp3 x86 on a separate partition, and it failed at first attempt, and then it seemed to go through, and now the pc would not load anymore. I can.t even get into Bios. It loads the first screen, and it stays like this forever. I can press Del for setup and it says it is entering setup but nothing happens, and with Tab the same thing, and f8 for Bbs popup which does nothing as well.
Click image for larger version. 

Name:	DSC_0273.jpg 
Views:	2366 
Size:	138.4 KB 
ID:	24716
Click image for larger version. 

Name:	DSC_0274.jpg 
Views:	2372 
Size:	194.7 KB 
ID:	24717
I installed really hard windows 7 as well a while ago. It just failed so many times, but I could repeat the process. Now I can.t. Only dvds seems to work, no usb or sd.