Unable to get past POST when I hook up my new SSD.

[Guest]

I am attempting to set up a Samsung 840 Pro 128GB drive on an ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO mobo. My current drive config is as follows:
1 300 GB drive, split into 2 partitions, System (C) and Programs (D).
2 1 TB drives in RAID 1 config.
1 DVD RW Drive.
I have the 300 GB drive in SATA2.
I have the 2 1 TB drives in SATA5 and SATA6 respectively.
I have the DVD RW in SATA3.
My intent is to install the SSD drive and clone the C partition to the new drive. However, when I plug the SSD into the SATA1 port, the system will not boot past the POST. To make matters more exciting, I am unable to get into the BIOS when the SSD is plugged in.
The ASUS mobo requires that you designate the SATA ports as IDE/RAID/AHCI and I have set all ports to RAID as my research has indicated that RAID defaults to AHCI when a RAID is not detected.
I gave up and decided I would do a clean install of Win7-64 on the SSD, but removing the 300 GB drive from the equation doesn't do anything. I'm still getting the black screen with the blinking cursor, and I am unable to get into the BIOS. Does it sound like I have a bad drive?

 

[alexoiu]

Hi,
If connecting only the DVD drive and SSD, tapping F8 at restart and selecting the DVD drive as the primary boot device, does the system boot from the Windows installation DVD?