Can't seem to install any OS on a hard drive

[mojaam]

Could this be a software or hardware issue? I have a 80GB Maxtor HD. My computer been running well since I first got it back in the Windows XP w/SP1 days (upgraded to pro later on) until recently. I turned it on to find a MSDOS style screen asking me to "repair" some file in Windows/System32... over the last few days, I have tried the following and failed at fixing the problem:

1. Safemode (all variations)
2. Reinstalling XP with both home and pro (got all kinds of problems after and during each attempt: missing/corrupt files such as hal.dll, ntostkrt, etc), Clean install didn't work either (3+ years worth of data sacrificed for nothing 🙁 )
3. Installing Ubuntu 6.06 LTS (Desktop CD): Boots up fine since it's from the CD, but when I try to install it permanently, the Installer Crashes:

Installer crashed
We're sorry; the installer crashed. Please file a bug report at ... and a developer will attend to the problem as soon as possible. To help the developers understand what went wrong, include the following detail in your bug report, and attach the files /var/log/installer/syslog, /var/log/syslog, and /var/log/partman:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/ubiquity", line 130, in ?
install(sys.argv[1])
File "/usr/bin/ubiquity", line 55, in install
ret = wizard.run()
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/ubiquity/frontend/gtkui.py", line 264, in run
self.progress_loop()
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/ubiquity/frontend/gtkui.py", line 538, in progress_loop
raise RuntimeError, ("Install failed with exit code %s; see "
RuntimeError: Install failed with exit code 1; see /var/log/installer/syslog and /var/log/syslog

What else is there to do?

 

[ciproxr]

you need to delete the windows partition and create a new one

 

[mojaam]

I did that many times.

 

[spherrod]

Download the utility from Maxtor's site and test the hard drive?

When trying a clean install, how have you formatted the hard drive?

 

[Miklebud]

My guess would be a bunk hard drive.