Quote Originally Posted by Phil K View Post

... why is Windows 7 or 8 refusing to ?
Conflict with something somewhere.

Start with the minimum: Motherboard, CPU, RAM, PSU, Video, one CD/DVD Drive, one HD, Keyboard, Mouse and Monitor.

Flip it on, reset the BIOS to factory defaults, and then set it to try and boot from the CD/DVD drive first.

Power down, insert a Windows 7 (or 8) CD/DVD and power back up. With any luck you should see the Windows installation routine starting up and eventually discovering your hard drive. Just follow along with the onscreen instructions from there.

Let us know what happens ...