formating

run scandisk first and then format it

I don't think you can scandisk before format - it checks the file system, which isn't there yet...

You need to check the hard drive using the manufacturer's diagnostic tools. A "zero-fill" may help some, but it seems you have some bad sectors developing and that is not a good sign. You could try redoing the partitioning, making the primary slightly bigger or smaller if possibly.
/RID

.... if possible.
/RID

sounds like in the 1st 5% of the format it removed the file allocation table, thus rendering the partition useless, so when u tried to access it again there was no physical label for 'c'

Sometimes if you delete partitions and then re-create them, but don't re-boot between the deletion of the partition and the creation of the new one, it can create issues.  Did you reboot between your deletion and creation?

Try running KillDisk on the drive to write zero's to it.  It's a free program: http://www.killdisk.com/downloadfree.htm

You can either download the bootable floppy disk creator, which works wonderfully if you have a floppy drive.

OR you can download the ISO image to burn to a CD.  This works well if you have a CD burner and no floppy.

All you do is boot the PC to the media you chose, then have it write zero's to the drive.  You usually only need to write one pass, but if your HD still has problems partitioning/formatting, then you may want to run killdisk again and run a few passes over the drive.

This program is great to permanently delete sensitive data from a HD and to fix problems like the one your having with HDs.

Hi All

Yes i think i have a serious problem with the hard drive,
RID is right i can't run scandisk it won't let me.

So ive decide to format the hard drive with cd no probs so i thought, i could format but when i load the various files to
the system there are many files that wont load. So i have sprang them over and just hope that windows will run.

Iwill try to download the kill disk and see what happens
will get back to you all when finished.

thanks Davy

Hi all

Tried killdisk but would not work i dont know if its any help but when formmating it says trying to recover allocation unit

76,726
-------------------
eccs 19

yes i did reboot
---------------
anymore suggestions

Thanks agian davy

"... trying to recover allocation unit..." is a sign of bad sectors on the hard drive. You should really get a diagnostic program from the HD manufacturer and run that. Possibly a "low-level format", AKA zero-fill, can cure the problem. After that you need to create new partition(s) and format again. I don't know "Killdisk" in detail, but possibly it just wipes the partition table. You need to test the entire data area of the hard drive.
/RID

Hi all

ok so ive got bad sectors best to go out and buy a new disk
and i did . but still got the same problem when i load xp pro
it says cant load some files. its not a copy of xp what could be the problem?

Thanks Davy ( extra 50 points if anyone can help)

See if you can get your hands on a different copy.  Could be you have a bad CD.  If you have a different CD drive, try it in your system.  Could be your CD drive is on it's way out also.  You could also try just changing the ribbon cable going to the CD drive.  They sometimes can cause trouble.

Hi eec19

tried all those still probs any suggestions

davy

Perhaps the cable to your hard drive?  Do you have the CD & Harddrive on the same chain?  Try CD drive on IDE1 and HD on IDE0

If none of these ideas work, the only other thing that i could think is that you have a flaky IDE controller.  Replacements are cheap.  Not sure where you live, but here's a sample.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=508

Hi all

Problem resolved it was the ram that was faulty

case closed

thanks davy

Aha!

You can get a refund if you ask for it in the Comunity Support area. Post a Q (free) and link to this one. Seems nobody thought of RAM here...
/RID

No objections here.