I recently built my first computer and everything went fine until i tried to install my OS. One of two things happens when I try: it either says there was an error reading the CD-drive or it says searching for hard drive configuration and freezes after that. How do i get xp pro to load and overcome the problem with my cd drive? what am i doing wrong?

first thing i would check is to see if the cd-rom is the first item in your bios boot order. if it isn't that would cause a malfunction due to the fact that it is looking for an OS on an empty disk. Always check your connections as well.

Perhaps the CDROM drive was not properly connected. Remember that the red wire goes to pin 1 (on the CD it's usually the pin closest to the power connector). Are you remembering that you must set the jumpers on the back of the CDROM and harddisk? If your harddisk and CDROM are on the same cable one must be set to Master the other to slave. Are you sure the XP CD works? Try it out in another computer. The trouble may be that the CD you have is scratched or doesn't boot. David