Install problems with former Mandrake box.

I've had some strange problems with my leftover box tha had mandrake 9.1 and WiWindows XP on it. On install it first hung on the second CD saying none of the files could be found. I tried installing again and it skipped something and gave me a login screen with no users and i could type in whatever for root to get to KDE. How can I really clear MBR if I don't have a DOS, or is this perhaps a faulty CD Drive? I'll double check that my hardware and harddrive are connected properly. System: Soyo KADA and Athlon XP. thanks.