The old hdd died so I installed a replacement - making sure it was primary master, but the xp os cd will not even start to install. I've made the cd player the first boot option in bios & bios sees the new hdd. It's also partitioned & formatted but after startup & POST the system keeps saying PRESS any key to reboot. The cd player light flashes, so the cd is moving. Any ideas?What did you use to partition and format the drive ? ?
How are your partitions set up ? ?
Did you remember to set the first partition as active ? ?Used another pc running the same os.

Single partition – 40GB – “Basic” type NTFS. The other pc says that it’s “Healthy (Active)” – so yes the partition is active.

Since I removed the hdd to check it on the other pc & reinstalled it, it now says
“NTLDR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart”. When I do the same message appears again.
You cannot swap around hard drives from one machine to another with XP...this will almost ALWAYS cause chaos...

At this point i believe you need to start over with a few suggestions;

1) The HDD needs to be in your machine for XP to ever run properly...even for the install.

2) The drive manuf. utilities are a very good way to prep a drive for an OS install. If you didn't recieve a CD with that drive DLoad them from the appropiate drive manuf. website.

3) In the drive utilities make sure the drive is set to an " active" partition and re-format the ENTIRE drive.

4) Then insert your XP CD and re-boot the machine and the install should run...I downloaded the correct HDD software from the manufacturer, burnt a CD using Nero & followed their instructions but I still get the “NTLDR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart”. When I do the same message appears again.
The correct cables are plugged into the HDD & CD Drive from the mother board & the jumpers are set to primary master & secondary master respectively.
If you are getting an NYLDR message when booting then the drive is not empty...probably leftovers from a botched install...boot with the manuf,CD and format the drive again.
Then put in your XP CD and re-boot
Does the installation start ? ?SORRY for the delay in answering, I have to work strange hours. I keep getting the same message i.e. “NTLDR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart” using the correct manufacturer’s file “DLG_V11_2.iso”.Revisit This Site and follow the instructions to BURN that file to a bootable CD...you have copied the file to a CD which will never work.
They have instructions for most burning apps including Nero...