unable to format partition:disk may be damaged.
 

I have a dell inspirion netbook mini. I am using windows xp and have had to re-instal, but get this message... how do I fix it so that I can install windows? I called Dell but they were no help because i had not purchased the "software"warranty only the "hardware"warranty. I need to fix the problem asap so my daughter can get the netbook back to school work.

If you have another working PC with a CD burner, download the live version of ubuntu linux and burn it to CD. Then start the PC with the CD in the drive and once you have the live screen, bring up a terminal window. This assumes that the first drive on your system is /dev/sda (most likely). Run "fdisk /dev/sda" and create a new partition table, then write it to disk. Shut down Ubuntu and you should now be able to install Windows after rebooting with the Windows install CD inserted in the drive.