Emplant, HELP!
I had a similar problem at first. I think certain versions of the
"Disk Tools" disk are customized for specific Macs and won't boot on
anything but that particular model. What I did was boot with the
"Install 1" disk, select "Eject Disk" so I could put in a blank
floppy, select "Switch Disk" so I could select the blank floppy as
the destination, select "Customize" so I could tell it what parts I
wanted, and finally select "Minimum system for any Macintosh." The
installer then created a bootable System 7.1 floppy for me. I could
then boot with that disk, format the hard drive, and proceed with the
installation as outlined in the documentation.
The next day, I went back to the Mac dealer where I bought my 7.1 and
had them trade me for the correct (generic) version. I think they
screwed-up and gave me a Quadra 840AV package the first time because
my original "Disk Tools" disk had enablers, etc. for that model.
Anyway, make sure you buy a copy of 7.1 that's not machine specific.
If you do, everything will work fine.