BleepingComputer.com: PC boots XP but cannot F8 - PLEASE HELP

Hi guys,

Hope you can help.

When I boot the PC windows XP boots up really slowly.

when i try to boot into safe mode using the "F8" key the screen just goes
blank and I then have to restart.

With the new hard drive installed on SATA channel 1 and the DVDRW drive
installed on SATA channel 4 I am unable to boot from CD either.

The CD just spins and then xp loads.

If i remove the hard drive from channel 1 the CD drive is able to boot a CD and operates normally, the minute I put the Hard drive back on any channel the CD fails to boot again.

If I remove the CD drive and leave the hard drive connected I am still
unable to boot into safe mode using "F8".

I have tested both the hard drive and CD drive in a different PC and both
work fine. I am able to boot from the CD drive and access the safe mode screen.

The issue is that the drives does not work properly when they are connected
to the motherboard.

I have cleared the CMOS, changed all cable.

Im going out of my mind on this one..... never seen anything like it

Go in the BIOS & see if you can find a setting to "treat SATA as IDE" or something to that affect.
If you find it make sure it is set to use SATA as IDE.

Also look for a RAID listing.
If you find one set it to Disabled.

What is the make and model of your motherboard. There are some settings for the boot up seqence and SATA/IDE emulation.