can't reformat hard drive

[Guest_imported]

I am trying to reformat my hard drive, and reinstall windows 98, but it keeps getting stuck. It keeps stopping at 23%. It has been that way for over an hour. I have tried several times. Am I doing something wrong? I enter in format c:/s. Please help.

 

[edfair]

Probably an indication that your hard drive is having problems at that location. Normally an indication that the drive is giving up.
Normal format tries to write stuff all the way. When it can't find what it is looking for it retries. If it is bad, supposedly it locks it out and continues. But it sounds like yours isn't completing the lockout.
there can be some size issues also. What drive size are you trying to format? Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[JEDORI]

Try running a FULL DOS SCANDISK. There may be a bad block @ 23 and if there is, then it will mark it as bad.

Jeff

 

[osuman]

Can you run scandisk if the partition isn't formatted?

 

[AlexeyGubin]

If the drive is from IDM, run IBM's Drive Fitness Tool (DFT). Tel it to erase the drive (you will lose all data on the disk, not only on the partition you are unable to format).
If it's some other brand, not IBM, get HDDSPEED from

http://www.xponik.spb.ru/hddspeed/index.html

Run it and have it to perform Media Test. Enable "try to repair/relocate found defects)". ----
Wbr, Alex

http://z-a-recovery.narod.ru/

: ZAR - FAT16/32 data recovery tool.

 

[Kjonnnn]

FDISK?