help installing windows...

[macarion]

I know it sounds stupid but i'm actually having problems installing windows xp on my hard drive...

My friend formatted it for me and when i got it back i plugged it in, activated it in BIOS and booted with my windows xp cd. When i tried to install windows it said that the system couldn't detect any hard drive on my computer so i figured i had to install the drivers. When I put in the cd, which contains drivers and diagnostics, that i got with my computer I get the option to copy the drives over to a floppy. Problem is my pc doesn't have a floppy! This is where i'm stuck and getting nowhere. I've heard that you can use an USB storage device instead of a floppy drive but i tried and it didn't work.

Any help would be appreciated

[Cricket]

What kind of computer is this? Home built or name brand?

What are the complete system specs? List the parts by brand and model including the power supply.

What kind of hard drive is it? IDE or SATA?

If IDE, is it jumpered properly for the type of IDE cable you're using?

If SATA, which SATA port do you have it plugged into?

Is the hard drive recognized by the BIOS?

Cricket