Serious Problem installing XP

[JNasci7906]

Hey all, heres the deal...just built my first computer (sorry for asking this question but hours of scouring these boards has led to nothing but a stronger contact lens perscription) and it all works physically and i can access the BIOS just fine...however, i want to install XP on my new OEM Seagate 80 GB hard drive. It says i need a system disk. However i have the XP CD in the CD-Drive...AND i tried using a MS-DOS Boot disk. I cant get the damn OS installed. Can someone please help me out with detailed instructions/links/smack in the face/anything. Thanks for your time...here is a list of hardware installed:

Abit IC7-G Maxx II motherboard
Intel P4 2.8c GHz 800MHz FSB
Samsung dvd-rom/cd-rw combo drive (unable to boot from i think??)
Corsair XMS DDR400 memory
Seagate 80Gb Hard Drive
Geforce FX 5700 256-bit

thanks for all your time

[JNasci7906]

Oh i forgot to mention i have 2 computers with XP..one with pro and one with home.....i can use the hard drive from the Pro computer if i need to...thanks again

[Panama Red]

Don't use dos with Xp. Set the bios to boot from the CDrom first, then the hard drive. Put the XP cd in the drive and when you get to the setup option to partiton/format the hard drive select NTFS format and format the hdd.

Almost forgot, welcome to PC Mech!

[JNasci7906]

i tried that and it didnt work. i will try it again. any other ideas

[JNasci7906]

Heres a little update...placed the XP CD in the tray...restarted with BIOS configured to boot from CD first, hard drive 2nd (also tried with only CDROM) and it starts up and stops at "Verifying DMI Pool Data"...no this time it just sits there like this...earlier it said "insert system disk yada yada" please help been working on this for bout 3 days now :-(

ps do i need to somehow format the hd b4 installing windows..?

[Panama Red]

Are the hard drive and CDrom properly recognized in the bios? If not, check the jumper configuration. I'd recommend setting the hard drive to Cable Select. I assume the CDrom is on the secondary ide at the end of the cable and jumpered to Master? No need to format before installing, that's part of the initial setup.

[JNasci7906]

the hard drive is SATA and i dont see any jumpers on the back of it...both are recognized in the bios it says samnsung and stuff and gives the numbers for the HDD

[JNasci7906]

i tried to stick my hard drive from my dell into it and just transfer windows...but i couldnt get it to recognize my new hard drive...i may have done somthing wrong though

[Panama Red]

Ah, a sata drive. Didn't catch that earlier from the part number. Did you install the Sata drivers? You need them on a separate disk. Watch the boot screen on start up and it will tell you when to push F6 to install the drivers.

[JNasci7906]

ok...they came on a 3.5inch floppy....i didnt buy one but i can throw one in there.....however, i think mine says push f4 or sumthing?? sound familiar at all...oh and panama thanks so much for the help so far

[Panama Red]

Sounds right, just follow the on screen prompts. Do you have the boot order correct so the floppy boots before the hard drive?

[JNasci7906]

yea i have the hard drive set at third...ill just have to put the floppy back in and set it to 1

[JNasci7906]

im done for the night...lol

[Panama Red]

Good luck tomorrow then. We'll keep an eye out for ya.