os won't install all the way on new build, please help

[newnovicebuilder]

Hi I an a new builder, and I have probably four to five computers that I am building, and they all are making me crazy. I cannot get them to post, but I think that I am just missing a step somewhere.
everything will work, but I don't get the beep, and I cannot get it to show anything on the monitor. I have tested the cpus at a friends, in fact they are all new except one. The one I got to post, works, except after getting the BIOS done, I tried to install Windows xp Prof, then Windows 2000 Prof., but they only get so far, and start asking for a floppy disk that I do not have. I have downloaded every kind of boot disk possible, and none of them help me. The one that I downloaded from Microsoft, gives me the blinking cursor in the upper left corner and thats it. If I don't use any of the boot disks that I have, both o/s's get to a please wait screen and stay there forever. Somebody please help me, I've put so much money into these things, and I can't make any of them even work. This all has been going on since December, and if I can't solve this puzzle soon, it is going to drive me nuts. The one that can't get the os to install on has these specs: Intel Celeron D 2.53Ghz; MSI 915P/PL Neo, 512 ddr sdram pc 3200 , Western Digital Caviar 250 Ghz HDD. I am only running one cd/rw, and a floppy, because this mobo only has one IDE, and I don't have any other SATA components.

[blue60007]

If you can't get them to POST and show something on the screen, try this.

[glc]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409

Your XP must be SP1 or SP2 to install on a 250gb drive. If it's an IDE drive, it must be cabled and jumpered properly. If it's SATA, the SATA controller must be set to standard IDE in the BIOS, not RAID, and you can only use *ONE* power connector on the drive - either the SATA or the standard 4 pin Molex, NOT both.

[newnovicebuilder]

It is xp sp2, and I amonly using the IDE cable/4 pin, but its possible that it is jumpered wrong. It is coming up as the master though. It starts setting up windows, and once it restarts to do whatever, it reboots from the disk, and starts the whole process again. It will go on, and on, and on forever, or at least until I turn it off.HHEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!

[glc]

Is this an IDE or a SATA drive? If it's IDE, plug the blue end of the cable into the motherboard, the black end into the hard drive, and the gray in the middle into the optical drive. Jumper both drives to CS.

[newnovicebuilder]

I actually tried the CS jumper setting, and then it wouldn't even get to the windows setup screen. What does the cable select setting do? I have always wondered, because I always make drives either slave or master. My Dell Dimension E510 has its drive set on that setting too, and I added a drive, will that mess anything up? Wait so by saying what you did, are you saying that the hard drive should also be in the cable select jumper setting also? Because my hard drive is set as the master, and the cd/rw was set as the slave. I put the black plug on the IDE cable in the cd/rw, and then nothing happened, but when I put the gray one back in the cd/rw it began the windows setup loop that it was doing originally, even in the CS setting. I get the feeling that I should be changing the hard drive to the CS setting also, am I right?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by newnovicebuilder What does the cable select setting do? I have always wondered, because I always make drives either slave or master.

The cable select jumper setting is used when you're using a 80 wire UltraATA IDE cable...the connectors on the cable determine whether a drive is master or slave. The blue connector goes to the motherboard, the black connector at the end is the master connector and the grey connector in the middle is the slave connector. If you want a certain drive to be master on the IDE controller you would connect it to the black connector. The cable select jumper just tells the IDE controller on the drive to let the "cable select" the drive priority (master or slave).

Cricket

[newnovicebuilder]

Hey, I thought that that might be it about 20 seconds after I posted that last thread edit. Boy sometimes you feel dumb and others just mildly stupid. This time, definitely dumb. Have you looked at my post, and do you have an opinion of my problem? I am a second semester 38 year old Computer Science major. I haven't been to school in 20 years. I am learning a lot in a very short time, but I love it. Anyway, to make my point, I am broke, and I have all this computer cases, cpu's,mobos, and other stuff, and until I sell something I will stay broke. This computer is so close to being up, and then it on to the five other cases that I am working on. I need money for books and programs for school. I have to buy Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Professional, and Autocad 2005 Student Edition. I am open to any and all help. The people on here have some amazing credentials, and offer great help. Thank you for your help.

[newnovicebuilder]

Now it is saying to get the manufactrurer supplied hardware support disk. I don't have one. I tried the CS setting on the hard drive also, and out the black cord to the cd/rw, but the continuous loop of windows setup still is whats happening. It is so close to being my first successful build, this is driving me crazy. Can someone please help me?!