[netyuppie]

i ran cheskdisk a few days ago and think i posted the results here. came up with some bad sectors & fixed them - they were all relating to system .../volume information/_restore
have a 480watt antec power supply. unless it has just gone bad, i know the wattage isnt an issue.
about the CD tho - i mean during the windows installation on a new drive, not booting from CD. it says "press f6(i beleive) if you need in install a second-party RAID controller" or something similar. this is while XP is loading and i'm thinking reading from the XP disc. it automatically checks for a floppy and i dont know if it gives you any other choice.

thanks to whoevers idea it was to read this tweak guide. much more informational than i had expected. actually reading it word for word, even parts not at all relating to my current situation. tons of great information.