winodws problem its just killing me

ok so my computers having problems (see here replace failed harddrive) so now im trying to set up windows and it askes me
To set up Windows now, press ENTER.
To repair windows...bla bla
to exit... bla bla

so when i press enter somtimes ill get the set up screen some times it will tell me that it cant find any HDD i just cant figure out whats going on

also sometimes when im trying to get into setup my computer makes this werid noise its like a click and then like a disk starting up or something what is this? thats what happened when my computer would freez(when this all started)

so ive gotten it to set up maybe 2 times and both times when it restarts setup eiather starts all over again or its juat a black screen

one last thing i dont really know where this screen was but when i was setting up it asked me if i wanted to setup windows or the onther choice was partition an unpationed drive

whats going on with my computer?

Sorry I lost touch. My own puter crashed beyond repair

Have reviewed the other posts & ...

That clicking is either your hard drive or your floppy. If it is the hard drive it is not good to hear.

Is this the new Maxtor?

Can you confirm the current hardware setup: At this point I'd suggest only having the Maxtor installed as Primary Master. Disconnect any other hard drive.

If this Maxtor is brand new I would run MaxBlast on it & let it do its' thing before you try XP.
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...&downloadID=57

If you continue to have problems run PowerMax on the drive to detect any failures:
http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...&downloadID=22

All your symptoms indicate some hardware failure. Either the hard drive, the cables, & or connectors, or also perhaps Power Supply issues are possible.

its not a new one i just disconnecter the ribbion from the failed hdd and made the working one the master. so should i run the second one my burnong it to a cd and booting up from that? also what wold the clicking indacate? and since i might be having problms with hardwear ect. could the other hdd still be good?

I would suggest only one drive connected. The working one. It is a Maxtor? If yes then first off run MaxBlast from the above link to install the drive. MaxBlast is a download that you will create a bootable floppy from. After that try to install XP by booting the CD.

Clicking would indicate some problem with the mechanical arms that read the discs. This happens with age. Like creaking bones. The PowerMax is also a download that you create a bootable floppy from. It is a diagnostic for Maxtor drives.

If your BIOS sees the hard drive but the XP CD cannot this would point to the drive as the problem. If your BIOS is not detecting the drive then the problem is on the board or in the connections.

yes i only have the mator hooked up so ill run maxblast but silly question i know but when you say floppy would burning ti toa cd be just as good? i dont think i even have a blank floppy or shoud i use this one? http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Ma...&downloadID=19

You can use the CD version. Floppies are just much faster & easier. You will need to burn that download as an ISO image. This freeware can do that: http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

so the only way to use a cd is to download that progarm also? i guess im gonna go find a floppy

Unless you have the copy of MaxBlast that came with your drive you will need to download it.

The current version is MaxBlast 4. If you already have that disk then you can use it. A MaxBlast CD should have come with the hard drive if you purchased it yourself.

o yeeeessssssssssssss i have maxblast 3 though

You can use that. I am not sure what changed in version 4. Try 3.