HELP!!!! No partitions; No FDISK

[Computer Dummy]

i'm having a very bad night...this is my second go at this message...I forgot to log in the first time and lost it all.

My problem is that I'm a computer illiterate, and have purchased a 2nd hand computer with the OS wiped off. it's a compaq, when i turn it on i am prompted "F1: Boot" so I press FI. It tells me to press ESC to skip network boot, so i presss ESC...now i get a message "Non-system disk or disk error replace and strike any key when ready" (I don't think I'll ever be ready!!). In any event I managed to get myself a disk with the works "Partition Magic" written across it. I now try to Boot with this disk in. I get a message that there are no partitions in the C: drive and suggesting that I run FDISK, then i get three options: proceed with CDRom; proceed without CDRom; help. Help doesn't seem to be helping, as i mentioned i'm computer illiterate. I tried with option 1 and putting my OS into the CDRom, nothing happened; I tried option 2, when I got the dos prompt i typed FDISK, the message was "No fixed disks present". i've tried downloading FDISK's and bootdisks but still no luck. i've had a co-worker offer to get it up and running for 50 bucks. Should I pay the 50 or can someone out there tell me, in laymens terms, what to do next? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[Wainui]

Go to Bootdisk.com and download a Windows 98 Bootdisk to your Desktop. Insert a new or formatted floppy disk in drive A then double click on the Windows 98 Bootdisk file you downloaded. The program will run and create a Bootable disk which you must use in your faulty computer.

Insert this disk in your computer and power it up.
Follow the instructions described in the CTH Tutorials on How to Format a Partition and How to Create a Partition