Chuck:
YUCK dont load win 98 and then an XP upgrade Ewwww!!
thats nasty useless registry snarl for nothing !! OS upgrades are a performance killer !!
and the sequence of assembly:
I like to start with a bench test. (dont install anything in the case yet)
1) put new mobo on the mobo box
2) install new cpu-thermal grease heat sink and fan
3) connect psu connectors (both of them 20 or 24 pin long connector and also the 12V cpu power connector)
4) install video card / leave the edge of the mobo hanging off the mobo cardboard box enough the video card riser can seat correctly
5) install one stick of ram (check mobo manual to see if there is a special slot for single stick config)
6) use a paper clip or other object to jumper the two pins on the mobo normally occupied by the case switch (power on & off button)
Now cross fingers and power the PSU switch / if you get to a bios screen ~~ he have reason to toast two glasses of wine !! :)
but more importanly / the key elements of the system have passed the pre-launch test
after this repeat the same steps except install the componets into the case and fire up again / if this is succesful to a bios screen ~~~~ YUP More wine !!! LOL
after the above pre-flights
just keep adding one thing at a time / and restart
the more you add at once the more the mudd will get deep when trouble starts
finally after hard drive is installed and cd-rom etc / load the OS / then load the chipset drivers, video card drivers, etc anything with a yellow exclamantion mark in the device manager
you arent gonna digest this all in one shot / dont hesitate to post as many questions as required to gain confidence
I would personally run the SYSPREP on your old hard drive / then install that drive with your OS on it
SATA drives can be a real pain in the tush all by themselves getting the controller to recognise the drive and boot from it / IDE drives are FAR easier / I would get your system up and running with the old IDE drive / then after a couple days of test driving / change to the new SATA drive
here is a sysprep "how to" its ultra easy !!!
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=772307
regards
joe >>>> feel free to PM me if needed