new comp wont boot into windows

[SonicIce]

i just built my computer and installed windows xp pro. i was using it for a few days and have some files on there that i dont want to lose. when i turn on my computer it takes forever to detect ide drives then says insert system disk. is my hard drive dead or something?
-athlon64 2800
-epox 8kda3j
-radeon 9000
-512mb pc3200

 

[tjaisv]

so it was booting into Windows fine for a few days and then all of a sudden wouldn't? did u do anything that might have caused this to happen?