This indicates that the hard drive has a partial or corrupt installation of Windows NT, 2000, or XP. Do you consider the HD "blank?" Are you about to install a new operating system from scratch?

This problem can also occur when you have a non-bootable floppy in the A:\ drive. If there's a floppy in the drive, remove it and try again.

the hard drive is from our previous computer

You originally said there is nothing installed on the computer? But now you're saying there is an operating system on the drive already? I suggest reformatting and starting from scratch. That's definitely your best option - it should be done when putting the hard drive in a new machine anyways.

sorry, I'm pretty new to this. the motherboard is new, and the hard drive is from my old computer, and the cd rom is from my old computer, so I should basically erase the old hard drive? if you want, you can IM me on soullll36 on yahoo messenger

I have found, from previous experience, that the best bet in a situation like this is:

* Determine the manufacturer and model number of the hard drive.
* Go to that manufacturer's web site.
* Download the appropriate utility floppy disk image. This is a file that will create a bootable floppy with the proper utilities for your HD.
* Use the utilites to test and reformat the drive.

THe HD in question is now blank and ready for whatever you want to put on it. It might take a while to run what is often called a "recertification" test, but you may as well check it fully while you can--such a test usually destroys data. In this case, that's a good thing.

While you are on the manufacturer's web site, you might want to download the manual for your model in PDF format. This can tell you useful stuff like jumper settings and more.