First time builder - Problems with setup, install

[parasu]

Sorry if this post is long, but I am building a machine for the first time and need some help. The machine I am building has the following specs:
CPU - 1.2 GHz Athlon 266 MHz FSB
Motherboard: MSI K7 Master with support for DDR Memory
BIOS on Mobo: Award BIOS
Memory: Crucial 256Mb PC2100 DDR
VideoCard: Leadtek Winfast GeForce2 Pro 64Mb
Hard Drive: IBM Deskstar 40Gb
CDRW: HP Cd Writer 9700i

I prepared the case, installed the mobo, put in the cpu, heatsink, fan, RAM & Videocard. I installed the Floppy drive and powered up the machine to make sure everything is fine. At this point the HD and CDRW were not installed. As soon as I powered the machine, the BIOS setup came up and I set the time and the date. All the other defaults looked OK. So I did a save and and exit and rebooted the machine with a Windows 95 boot floppy in the FDD. At this point the machine booted and 'A:\' appeared on my screen. So far so good.
I powered down the machine and unplugged the power cord and installed the HD and the CDRW and connected the IDE and power cables to these. I powered up the machine again and the message on the screen indicated that the HD and CDRW were recognized correctly. Towards the bottom of the screen there was a message:
"'Warning! CPU Ratio and CPU Vcore has been restored to Default
Value.' "Please press "Delete" to enter SetUp and Remember to Save
Before Exit'
I pressed delete the screen cleared and NOTHING. Nothing happened for a while. It concerned me a bit but I decided to proceed along and format the HD. So I inserted the install disk for the HD and reset the machine, and proceeded to format the disk. Once the formatting was done, I rebooted, did not go into setup for the bios, and I got a message to insert the OS disk. I inserted the Windows ME disk in the CDRW tray, and I could hear the CDRW tray spinning but I got a message: DISK READ ERROR.
I thought that there was something in the BIOS that I have to set to get the CDRW to work right. At this point I was desperate to get into the BIOS to find that out. So I tried clearing the stored CMOS using the jumper on the mobo to reset the BIOS. I powered up the machine and I got a message at boot time saying: "Checksum error, loading defaults", but I am still not able to get into the setup. After all this I am still able to insert a Windows95 boot floppy and get the machine to boot completely.
I think I have 2 problems here: Not being able to enter the BIOS setup and not being able to load the OS because the of disk read error. I loaded the same disk in my older machine and the ME install window shows up. SO the CD is readable as far as I can see.
Please help me on completing the installation and getting the machine running. TIA.

Parasu

[XeneX]

It sounds to me that your real problem is not being able to get into the BIOS. You're probably getting a disk read error because the BIOS reverted to defaults and its no longer configured for your CDRW and/or your HD.

I would suggest you disconnect the CDRW and the HDD, set the CMOS jumper back to normal on the mobo, remove any disks from the FDD and try again to get into the BIOS. Focus on getting access to BIOS and don't do anything else until you do.

-T

[shivers]

Sounds like you need to set the jumpers on the back of the hard drive and cdrom.Harddrive should be set to master on its own seperate ide cable and pluged into the primary plug on the mother board.the cd rom should be set to master and pluged into the secondary plug on the mobo with its own ide cable.Good luck......SHIVERS