Blue screen and mouse arrow at boot up

[Crono1000]

I recently installed a PC game (Spore) on the comp and it made the comp run
buggy immediately after it was installed, particularly keeping us from
restarting the computer most of the time (the comp would either restart at
splash screen or I would have to select "Load with last workable
configurations")

Since then the comp crashed today and suddenly the comp just continuously
restarted at the Windows splash screen and wouldn't give me the Load with
Last... option. So I restarted trying to open with DOS mode to do a chkdsk (I
think I clicked F7 or F8 I think at the load screen) and I think it asked me
what my primary hard drive was. It game me an option of a named drive and
"Other." I picked the named one.

Now my current problem: Upon turning the comp on, the comp only loads a blue
screen and the mouse and that's it. I have found through trial and error that
I can press F2 during the load screen to bring up BIOS and F11 to bring up
this whole "what's in the A: drive" thing (I think it's called the "Setup"
screen).

Any help would be appreciated, and I'll try to answer any questions or
specifics if it helps. I have Windows XP, but I'm writing this on a friend's
PC cuz mine won't do anything but show blue and the mouse. I feel like I have
somehow made a secondary hard drive my primary or something, I dunno. Please
help, I'm hopeless and afraid I'm just making things worst
 

[Crono1000]

also, I tried to bring up the recovery console but it freezes at the mup.sys

[squall_01]

Does the blue screen say anything?

[Crono1000]

no it is blank.  Just a sky blue screen and a mouse pointer

[squall_01]

so we no its not a BSOD for the most part.  More help will be along soon.

[Crono1000]

The only change to the problem is that if I try to get into system restore it just freezes and says Reading (some number) KB on 0 bud or something like that.  The same thing happens if I just try to run Windows using the Windows XP disc

[Broni]

1. If you have Windows CD, follow the steps from here: http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp

2. If you don't have Windows CD...
Download Windows Recovery Console: http://www.thecomputerparamedic.com/files/rc.iso
Download, and install free Imgburn: http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
Using Imgburn, burn rc.iso to a CD.
Boot to the CD...let it finish loading.
When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start the Recovery Console.
Then, follow the steps from here: http://icrontic.com/articles/repair_windows_xp, starting below this picture on page 1:

[Crono1000]

That's one of the main problems, it freezes as soon as I get to that screen and press R for recovery console.  Also, it freezes and says the same thing if I press to Enter to set up XP. 

I don't have the screen in front of me, but it says something like Reading (Some number) KB on 0 bud or something like that

[Broni]

1. Run Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool: http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Windows-Memory-Diagnostic-Tool-t177564.html
2. Run hard drive diagnostics: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

[Crono1000]

what information exactly do you need from the first diagnostic?  Because basicly upon booting with the disc there is always one active and everything fails.  Stride38 has suceeded, one other is always active, but everything else fails

As far as the second diagnostic, I don't know for the life of me which one to download because I don't know what my hard drive manufacterer is.  I researched online for help and I have a Sony Vaio but I have read that manufacterers can differ even among same models

[Broni]

Let's stay with RAM testing for now.

but everything else fails

What exactly fails? How many passes did you go through?

[Crono1000]

I let it run through 4 "extended tests" full passes.  The fourth pass has the following results:

Test     Cache   
MATS+   On     Failed
INVC      On     Failed
LRAND   On     Failed
Stride6   On    Failed
WMATS+ On    Failed
WINCVC On    Failed
MATS+    Off    Failed
Stride38 On   Succeeded
WStride-6 On Failed
ERAND    On    Failed
Stride6   Off    Failed

[Broni]

It looks like bad RAM.
If you have more than 1 RAM stick, test them one at a time.