If u have a friend that has a computer with internet connection, then u can just take a disc...floppy....format it and make it bootable. Go online and download the appropriate bios update and flash...

if ur going to partition and format the hard drive urself u'll need a seperate windows disc then the recovery discs that came with the computer.

try ebay.

before u kill the mobo trying isolating different peripherals....ie: keyboard, mouse, cd drives and any other peripherals that u may have attached.

Just remove the cmos battery for about 5 minutes and replace...reboot and go to the cmos setup.

when flashing the bios it is best to do it from the dos prompt and not from within windows. try re-flashing the bios.

check ur bios for an autodetect hd.....either as a stand alone feature or on the main cmos page. You could set for auto.