First build, first boot problems

[Coywolf]

I just got all new computer parts for christmas, and ive started putting it together. as of now i have the PSU in, the CPU and cooler are on the motherboard, as is the RAM and vid card, and the motherboard is mounted in the case. ive hooked power to all the fans and the motherboard. now the problems come: my motherboard has the 4-pin +12v slot, but the first time i started it, i didnt see it and didnt have it plugged in. its started, all the fans came on, but nothing showed on the monitor. then i tried it with it plugged in, and then it started, all the fans came on, then i got scared and shut it off cause the cpu cooler suddenly stopped. this only happens when that 4-pin connector is in. also, with or without it, the speaker didnt make any noise. can someone please tell me wats wrong?

im using a 480w PSU
amd athlon 64 3700+
1gb corsair xms RAM
geforce 7800 gtx

[jiggy79]

Well you definetely want the cpu fan to spin to keep the processor cool. Make sure the memory clicks when you put it in the slot. That's all I can think of now, because if the memory is not in all the way the computer will not boot up.

[Coywolf]

ok, i figured out the first boot problem. now i got a new problem. i got my bios set up to recognize the hardrive and the cdrom. first red flag was that the boot priority was set to
cdrom
hdd
floppy
isnt it supposed to be the reverse of that? but anyway, i put in the windows cd, and it begins to install. the first time i tried this, it installed ALL the way and i was at the desktop. i began by installing my sound drivers. it required me to restart. i did, and then i got a stop error saying something about ACPI, my BIOS wasnt supporting ACPI, press F7 to just skip it.
so i tried the whole process again, this time pressing F7 when it told me to. started to install, then at the point half way in where it restarts, i got the same message. i did a google search, got a few hits saying i should push F5 and choose the the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC option. so i tried this, and i got the same result as when i pushed F7. any ideas?

[Sylvander]

"isnt it supposed to be the reverse of that?"
You can change the boot order to suit your preference.
I would always put the FLOPPY before the HDD [so as to be able to easily boot from a startup or diagnostic floppy].
You might want to put the CDROM before the HDD [so you can easily boot from a bootable diagnostic CD].
I have chosen not to do that.
Instead I use:
How to make a free “Smart Boot Manager” floppy
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41498
This makes it easy to boot from a chosen drive.