reinstall windows but problems w/ cdrom drive

[susancbk]

I have a computer I got from a family member that I want to do a clean install of windows xp. I'm however running into a couple problems.

First I realize the cd rom drive isn't working, so I cant put the reinstall cd in.
I plug in the external dvd-writer and am able to load the cd. I put in the serial number go through the steps, it says its going to restart and eventually does (after a bunch of other programs have to be terminated (this computer is bogged down with lots of programs/spyware/etcet/c).

however, when it restarts it dosen't go into that screen that is supposed to do the rest of the clean reinstall. I'm assuming this is because after restarting its looking for the cd in the cdrom, but since its not there it just loads windows again.

so- i figure my two solutions are figure out how to get the reinstall to work from the external drive, or figure out how to get the cdrom drive working.

In trying to figure out the cdrom drive- here's what i've done. Tray opens and clothes, green light shows some activity. however, the drive never shows up in my computer.
so its getting power but isn't connected , right? I open up the computer and this is proven true. the power is plugged in but the ribbon isn't.

Why would this be? Is this common for people to do when they use an exteranl dvd drive?
I attempt to plug the ribbon cable back in but there's this weird adaptor on the end... its like a small circuit board which has another connector on it. This connector dosent fit into the back of the drive, but the ribbon that plugs into the connector is the right size.

I would remove the connector and plug the ribbon straight to the drive, however, the power wires run from this connector.

This as far as i've gotten since I had to get some other stuff done, but any insights/solutions would be GREATLY appreciated- whether it be how to reinstall from an external drive or to fix the cdrom drive.

[DaveSW]

Firstly you'll need to find if there's a power plug like the one you need anywhere else in the case - there usually is a spare one somewhere.

Then with both leads connected, power up the computer and enter your bios settings. (either by pressing delete or f1, depending on your computer.)

Either use the 'auto-detect hard drives' option to update the settings, or enter the 'basic' setup and attempt to find the cdrom. If it's listed in the right place, boot to windows and see if it's there.

I have seen some computers laden with spyware and viruses unable to read their cdrom drives, so if you get more errors, we may need to deal with them before continuing.

[guest]

When u start the comp go to the BIOS settings options
select the external drive as the primary booting device
chk whether the cd drive is listed there(if the power cable and the date cable is conn it should be listed there).