One question, please. How did you format or prepare your hard drives before you tried this?

the 1st hard drive had ubuntu and windows in it, I just used the xp installer and deleted all partiitions then chose quick format.
 
the 2nd one that I havent messed with remains in factory condition, not formated no partitions.
 
Edit: oh i was just gonna make the 1st hard drive entirely ntfs for now and setup the fat32 later

The most likely problem, assuming that the hard drive is not at fault (as it would seem is not the case), is to format the drive with one of the manufacturer's utilities to prepare it for XP (prepare it as a boot drive). For example, Maxtor has it's Maxblast software utility and Seagate's DiskWizard. Use the utility designed to work for your hard drive make. The Windows installer probably will not delete the Linux partition and confuse the Windows installer.
 
Also, see this Microsoft article on the subject.

ok thanks i'll try that when i get off work, whats really annoying about this, is that I almost never use windows, it haunts me even after I've left it. lol

nope thats not it... i'm starting to think its the cd cuz theres are some hairline scratches in it, i mean pretty small, but maybe enough to effect something, i just would have thought it would have had a read error.

It's possible. Try cleaning the surface carefully.
 
Other problems like this can happen because of faulty memory.
 
You also added a new hard drive to the system. Make sure that all your connections are secure and that you did not partially dislodge the connection on the primary sata drive.
 
You also have no partitions on the second drive? If so, partition the drive as a data drive, then try again.
 
A weak or inadequate power supply can also do this. This should not be the case, unless this system is a pre-configured one with a cheapo power supply.
 
Check the bios and see if the drive is seen there.
 
As a last resort, try taking out the new drive, then reinstall Windows. If this works, then you either have a funky new drive, it gave you problems because it was not formatted (of course, if you formatted it and the problem went away, disregard), or your power supply is not adequate. The last point could be related to a lot of peripherals that are on this system that are causing a problem.
 

ok i'll check all those things.
 
but 1st, last night i was screwin around and thought to see if i could even get ubuntu to install on the 1st drive and the installer crashed saying this
 
 
We're sorry; the installer crashed. Please file a bug report at https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+filebug and a developer will attend to the problem as soon as possible. To help the developers understand what went wrong, include the following detail in your bug report, and attach the files /var/log/installer/syslog, /var/log/syslog, and /var/log/partman:
 
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/ubiquity", line 130, in ?
install(sys.argv[1])
File "/usr/bin/ubiquity", line 55, in install
ret = wizard.mun()
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/ubiquity/frontend/gtkui.py", line 264, in run
self.progress_loop()
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/ubiquity/frontend/gtkui.py", line 538, in progress_loop
raise RuntimeError, ("Install failed with exit code %s; see "
RuntimeError: Install failed with exit code 1; see /var/log/installer/syslog and /var/log/syslog
 
i'm gonna try pullin the second drive like you said and check my connections
 

hey what do ya know, it looks like i just have retarted cheapo sata cables, they almost fall off with the slightest touch.
 
i think thats it ill find out here in a min