Asus CUV4X-C and W2K woes

Ok here's the specs
Asus CUV4X-C mb
PIII800 eb
128 PC133 SDRAM
ATI 2K 32MB VC
50X CD-Rom
NIC
SB 128 SC
56K modem
30gb Maxtor 72K hd
Mid Tower Case

Ok, heres the skinny
When installing W2K pro on this box I am receiving a hard disk failure, "Windows was unable to format partion due to possible HD failure", when formatting any partion of any size NTFS prior to install. Tested, replaced cabling. I have run diagnostics on my hard drive (known good) and used different hard drives (also known good) and receive the same error but can't pinpoint the exact problem: any ideas, patches advice. What the hell am I doing wrong?

***the boss let me post this one, ha!***



[This message has been edited by NeuromancerIV (edited March 13, 2001).]