HD won't reformat in partition magic

[bradbowl]

I have a Western Digital 60GB HD that I've been trying to reformat to use as a storage drive. In partition magic 7.0 the drive status is "bad" even though it works fine. When I try to reformat it, I get an error saying bad sector, press any key to abort.

Is my HD dead even though it works?

[Dark Ember]

Well, I would first try getting WD's diagnostic tools to make sure that the drive actually is good. It could be that it seems to be working fine for you, but there may be a problem with it that hasn't manifested itself yet. The diag tools should check the smart thresholds, and run drive self tests, so it should be able to tell you if its actually bad or not. You can find the software here:

http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?cxml=n&pid=999

If the drive is showing bad sectors though, its most likely a dying drive, and needs either be RMA'ed or retired. The diag should tell you for sure though.

[bradbowl]

Thanks for your help! Much appreciated.