Loading Vista - Grey screen white flashing cursor

Using: Windows Vista Home Basic w/ service pack 1
I've run boot camp on my 24" intel based iMac and partitioned the drive but when i start the windows install the computer boots up to a blank screen with the white flashing cursor (horizontal line) in the top corner. Tried a few suggestions after browsing other forums but nothing has worked so far. and yes the computer is booting from the CD.

What i've tried:
-removing and recreating the partition
-resetting my NVRAM
-turning off the power for 30-sec and restarting

any suggestions or links to other possible solutions would be very welcome

Sounds like you may be using a version of Vista Basic SP1 which is not compatible with Boot Camp. It must be a FULL install copy of Vista Basic, not a recovery or repair disk. Check here for BC requirements.

Apple - Support - Bootcamp

Regards.

it is a full copy i have had it loaded onto the mac b4 i just took it off at one point and i cant reload