I have a spare computer - reformatted the HD and now cannot get into bios to reinstall Windows ME.

I hear the fan running, it continually reads both CD-Rom drives but will not read any disk. It will also not respond to any F key at startup to load BIOS.

Having read all I can on related forums, I think the mistake I made was not to change the BIOS to boot up from CD. Whatever I do, I just have a blank screen looking back at me.

Thanks for any pointers.

does keyboard lits up during power on? try to unplug the power from your PSU for about 3 mins..plug it in again..check if you will have something..observed the keyboard led's... post back..

The keyboard lights up when I power up (all three lights flash) but then nothing - no lights. What I have noticed now for 1st time when looking for these lights, I notice the monitor led light also goes on at power up but does not stay on.

Sorry I took so long to get back but I am in no hurry.

If the drive lights are on continuously it means one of them (hdd, cdrom, floppy) is incorrectly configured. Because of this, your computer can't POST, which means you won't be able to access your bios. Figure out which one is wrong, (it could be a cable that is backwards, or an incorrect jumper) and then it should POST.

Just check Cables of ur HDD, Is it perfectly configured or not?
It should be the problem.
try to connect with another cable.
is there any bip sound is coming or not?
if coming then is it continous bip or short bip or long bip
give detail

USB keyboard?
Try a PS/2 or vice versa.

You might also check for bent pins on the hdds.