please, please help me!!

ok heres my problem. i bought a new abit mobo, case and athlon xp3200
+
so i set it all up the other day using my existing hard drives, floppy, ram and cdroms from this computer. i get a message at boot saying missing operating system. i checked all the cables, hd jumpers over and over again. everything was in place and reading right in the bios. well i couldnt fix the problem no matter what i tried. i took the pc apart and put this one together again. i got some answers the most sensible being to reformatt because the hd's were conflicting. so i did. well i tried. i put the pc together again, put in my restore cd and it says now that, something like, this cd is not the right cd for this system. insert correct cd and try again....something along those lines. when i tried to boot without the cd i got the missing operating system again. the cd works fine because i tried it on this pc. the only way i can get help on this matter is to keep rebuilding my pc because its the only access i have to the internet. im going to try one last time. hopefully when i print out your kind replies, one of them is the right one so i dont have to rehbuild again. does anyone have any suggestions. thank you very much in advance

 

Was the original system a Dell, Gateway, or HP? Often their "restore disks" will only work on their systems. If you changed the motherboard the restore disk sees it as a foreign system and will not install.

 

I agree with Marty4016 there is no way a restore disk will work on a new custom built computer but I also want to add that you also can not install the os on a hdd in one computer and transfer this hdd to another computer that is new or different and expect it to work.
You need to buy a new copy of windows.

Rick

 

thats my answer it seems...damn, thanks guys

 

usually those HP or Gateway etc systems come with an OEM version of Windows ... try using that to install

 

yeah i have a restore cd, a cd that says microsoft windows home edition, and a couple of supplemental software cds. you think that 2nd cd has all the files i need?
btw, how would i access that drive. i mean how do i access the A drive? is there some kinda boot disk for xp?

 

i have one that is labeled "Compaq Operating System CD Microsoft Windows Home" (yours is probably different) ... to do a full reinstall where your hard drive would be blank and no programs aside the ones that come with Windows(windows media player, internet explorer, etc) you just boot with that CD ... no need for any restore CDs since that is essentially the same thing as a store bought XP version ... you may have to set in your BIOS to make it boot with the CD Drive just to force it to boot from the CD ... but everything else should be self explanatory since it tells you what to do each step of the way

this method you will not be able to get any of the supplemental software since they are tied to the computer you bought... not the one you built

 

i have a pic of the sceenshot from the windows cd menu i have. does this look like the retail copy?