Here are the symptoms and what I have tried:
Symptom: When I boot my notebook (HP Pavilion ZV6000; XP) it goes to the HP logo screen, starts beeping, which never stops, and the screen goes blank. I have been able to boot to the desktop after numerous tries but can't do anything there because of heavy usage of the HDD for some reason. Booting to the DVD drive is painful as well. It almost appears that I can boot to safe mode but ultimate reboots constantly. When I do get to the desktop in safe mode I can't do anything, again because the HDD drive is constantly being accessed.

I have replaced the RAM with a known good module with no success. Virus scan did not find anything either. Removed battery and power, held power button for 30+ seconds, etc. nothing worked.

I suspect it might be tied to the integrated graphics or the system board itself, which ultimately means it's the system board. I also thought of the BIOS but not sure if I could even get to boot options for safe mode/normal mode if that was corrupted. Any suggestions other than buying a new system?