I'm a little out of date with Windows. But if you're not adverse to using a Linux LiveCd, you might download and use GParted.
PCWorld Article
SourceForge
In essence, you would download GParted and then burn it to disk or USB stick. Then, you would boot your computer with that and run Gparted.
If you are familiar with the old Partition Magic Utility, then you will be comfortable with GParted... If not, there is plenty of info available on the web.
With GParted, you should quickly be able to ascertain whether the problem is with your computer or with your hard drive... I would suspect a configuration or partitioning issue that Windows isn't comfortable with... But with GParted, you should be able to fix that...
Best of luck,
Uno