I am getting a strange error after I format a HDD with the NTFS file system...(or any other format for that matter) The setup formats the HDD but after the formatting windows proceeds to say......

"Setup was unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged.

Make sure the drive is switched on and properly connected to your computer. If the disk is a SCSI disk, make sure your SCSI devices are properly terminated. Consult your computer manual or SCSI adapter documentation for more information.

You must select a different partition for windows XP, To continue, Press ENTER"

The error stated is the exact error Windows Setup displays...Previously with another HDD it gave the same error...so regrettably I got another HDD taking the the "Setup wa unable to format the partition. The disk may be damaged." into consideration. This is a brand new HDD so I highly doubt something is wrong with it.

Things I have tried so far..

*Putting HDD in another PC and formatting it using partition magic, it formatted perfectly...with NTFS
*Scanning the HDD to see if there are any bad sectors, none found.

That is about it, I did some other stuff but I do not think it is important.

So please help me out if you can.

Hmm.. let me see if I got it. You were able to format the new HDD perfectly in another PC, and there were no bad sectors. But when you tried to install Windows XP in this HDD with the "bad" PC, it's able to format but then gives that error?

I don't remeber the install options of windows xp by heart, but isn't there an option so you can skip the format process and just select the partition to install XP? (since it's already formatted, there's no need to format again)

If there isn't, well then I don't know. Did you check the old HDD with the "good" PC to see if it's ok too? Because if the old HDD is good too, then there's something wrong with the PC that is not installing XP. Perhaps a motherboard problem or maybe a connection problem (did you setup the HDD correctly in the mainboard? you know, jumpers, flat-cable or sata cable, etc). That's all I can think of now.

Well I did not touch any thing I just set everything up to the Primary and Secondary IDE cables to the HDD and CD/DVD Drive. It was a pretty normal instillation I didn't touch anything else.

Hmmm... well, it seems to me that your Drive is ok. If your drive worked perfectly in another comp, means that either that installation disk of yours is damaged or there is some trouble at the SCSI controllers on your board.

Thats all i can think of right now...

I think you should check with your board.

Warmest regards,
The Firestorm

The SCSI setup is indeed tricky, I suggest that you read all the manuals and labels again for your controller and disk.
Since your disk is already formatted in another computer, simply select to keep the filesystem without changes and it should work.
I also can't see a reason for using SCSI today when SATA has completely taken over.

P.S.: Ribbon cables are likely to break inside. You should change yours to see if it helps.