Are you installing a Windows 9x varient? In other words, 95, 98/SE, or ME? If so, you should know that MS no longer provides security updates for those platforms. ...Probably not a good idea if the system will be connected to the internet.

In regards to your issue, there are varying opinions on it's cause. All of them point to hardware being either misconfigured or faulty, or in rare cases corrupted boot files. Since it's a brand new system, you should begin by troubleshooting the simple things first:

• Are the jumpers configured properly on the motherboard?
• ...What about on the drives?
• Is the BIOS setup right?
• Is the CMOS setup to 'Auto' for the drive type for your HDDs?
• Is the floppy drive cable connected properly?
• Is everything properly connected to the power supply?
• Any loose connections, either power or data?
• Is the chassis having grounding problems (any shorts)?
• Is all of the hardware kosher and fully compatible?
• Is the RAM good?
• Overheating -- CPU too hot? Heatsync applied properly with quality thermal compound?
• Power supply -- is it adequate?

Check these things out and see if you can narrow down the problem. If all else fails, try stripping the system down to its most basic working form (RAM, Video, HDD). If it works then, start adding parts one at a time to pinpoint the issue.

Hope this helps. If not, feel free to reply to this thread and be as specific as you can with both your issue, operating system, and the hardware in question. Chances are somebody here can help you, as I've built what seems like a million PCs in my lifetime, and Big B has probably just as many under his belt.

-AT