The first possibility is that the PC BIOS either does not have autodetect or it is not set. So, making sure the current HDD is set to master, set the Hitachi to slave on the same cable, start the PC and enter the BIOS. Make sure the Hitachi is detected either use the auto facility or by manually entering the settings (they are on the HDD label). Once it is detected save the settings and exit.
If that works and you still cannot see the HDD in Windows it will be because it is not formatted. Go into Disk Management and form the disk.
If the PC cannot detect the HDD it could be a cable fault. Disconnect the present HDD, set the Hitachi to master and then go into the BIOS and go through the detection process again. If it detects it, replace the cable (ideally with a UDMA 80 pin cable).
Not sure about the problem with the CD. HDD do not need drivers and I cannot understand where you got it from or what it has on it, except perhaps utilities for people with older machines which have a limit to the HDD size. Regardless, it should not boot the machine. Put it in another machine and browse it using My Computer - right mouse click - Explore to see what is on it.
For the memory sticks, let me know what happens when you put the 512Mb in, check the size, then add the 128mb and check the size of each of them. Does the 512Mb stay at 512Mb and what does the size of the 128Mb show as?