New install ... reboot ... nothing

Hi,

I am doing a new install. The install starts up, tells me I need to do a
custom installm since there is no way to do an upgrade, I enter key, it
installs, reboots, and the message about pressing a key to boot from CD comes
up and I wait for the last dot and nothing. It just sits there. The cursor
still flashes and the message is still there, but the boot process is not
advancing. I was like okay there might be a bug in the disk and continue
loading at the end of that message, so I take the DVD out and reboot, but
there is nothing but a blank screen. And it sits there, the only difference,
no message saying if want to press a key to boot from the CD, so the same
exact thing that is blocking it from booting any further is still there, so
not the boot disk.

This happened with both the Beta 2 DVD that MS sent me and the new RC1 that
I just DLed off their server today.

So, what's going on? Is there a way to actually boot into the OS?

The computer has a P4 2 Gig, 1 gig mem, 60 Gig HD, GeForce 4 MX 420 Graphics
Card, and a plug in Firewire card. This should all be standard hardware.
Although, it is a Dell system. Is there an issue with Dells and using a
different Windows version?