Need help reformatting

I'm helping my boss reformat his computer for the tattoo shop and its a pain in the ass. I'm only using windows xp pro sp2, which i've installed on other computers countless times. Of course its a pirated version but its worked fine every other time. When I put the disk in and reboot it, it asks if I want to boot from CD, which I do. When I do it says that its checking the HD for the necessary space and all that, then goes to a blank black screen. I figured it would work if I just let it sit for a while. Well I've tried it numerous times and have let it sit for over 32 hours at a time. It won't leave the blank screen. Does anyone know what I could do?

 

New pirated CD?

 

Or try cleaning the disk. If both fail, then his HD must be corrupted in some way. Google "Ultimate Boot CD" and read up on that and give it a try.

 

I've downloaded and have tried 3 different copies, so it has to be the HD. Thanks for the link, I'll read up on it.

 

sounds like the HD or RAM is giving you trouble.

Run a memtest

 

I had the same problem and just used the pirated cd to reinstall xp.