First time I ever took a hard disk out this happened to me. Check you haven't plugged any of the IDE cables (the grey ribbons) in upside-down. My computer at the time would not even attempt to boot if you got one the wrong way up - it looked very much like something major had gone tits up.
There's three ways to tell if you've plugged the cable in the right way up. Ideally there's a raised notch on one side of the cable which corresponds to a notch on the disk/motherboard connector, which makes it impossible to plug them in wrong. Failing that, there's a red stripe down the side of the IDE ribbon - this should line up with pin 1 (often nearest the power connector).
The third option is just to try them in all ways :O) If I were you I'd completely disconnect the ribbons from the motherboard to see if it boots without them. If it does, plug in one cable at a time, verifying each one works as you go, until the computers back to normal.
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<GSVsleep> cows would live a lot longer if they werent made out of steaks and leather
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