Greetings gfx dude, Welcome to TSF! :wave:
Firstly, you only need to install the Operating System one
ONE of the HDD's
not both of them.
The second HDD can be connected as a "Slave" and can be used to 'save' everything that you download, plus emails and other data, such as music etc.
I suggest that you check the CD for scratches and marks; wipe it very gently from the centre to the edges with a lint free cloth.
To give you the best chance of getting Windows® installed without hassles, such as those you are experiencing, is to completely wipe the HDD with Darik's Boot N Nuke.
Wiping the HDD this way will completely erase everything off the HDD and take it back to a RAW unformatted state, as if it had just come out of the factory.
Just so that you do not forget anything when doing the installation, please read this...
The Windows® XP Installation Check List.
1. The Windows® XP SP2-CD (naturally) :grin:
2. Darik's Boot N Nuke (
Click the coloured Link).
3. Please read this guide.
4. The Motherboard CD that contains
all the necessary Drivers etc.
A couple of tips...
a. Darik's Boot N Nuke will take about 4½ hours to completely wipe the Drive; however, this will vary depending on how big the Drive is. (
That estimate is for a 80Gb HDD).
b. When you get to
Figure 7 in 'The Guide', you can create more than one partition here by simply telling Windows® how big you want it. Should you do decide to create an extra partition, it will not be active until you do so after the installation is over and done with...we can give you guidance as to how this is done, so partition away if you wish.
c. Once the installation is finished, with all the Motherboard Drivers installed, and Internet connected, I strongly recommend that you install a reputable Anti Virus program
first; then, go to the Windows Update Site and download
all the updates (
including SP3).
AVG™ is has a very good
free version available
here.
d. DO NOT have any unnecessary items; such as, USB cameras, Printers etc., attached to the machine...install
all these
after the installation is finished, and fully updated from Microsoft®.
If you are uncertain about
anything here, do not hesitate to ask for assistance.
Good Luck with this task, and when you have finished, please post back with the results.
Kind Regards,