Ok now... where to start..
Well,
here I learned I could purchase XP home for $90. This inspired me to tool around with my computer to see if i could get it working again.
I checked the HDD jumpers, all good to go.
On the CDROM I found that the jumpers were on slave but the cable was master. I changed the jumper to master, and I closed the case (lol) and started her up.
In the BIOS it said it detected both the CDROM and the HDD.
Thanks for all the help.