Update:
i ran norton utilities (by booting off that cd) and i tried to check the DOS boot sector and what not, but the problem is that it freezes at 0% and then skips to the next item... I don't know what to do. The drive is there at times, read perhaps a gig less, but still there.... I can see the sectors and stuff..
any ideas ... should i try opening the laptop and attaching that hd as master to a computer with a better BIOS (one with a low level format option) or is there something I can do without doing that....
thanks.

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Mirrors should reflect a while before throwing back an image.