im trying to reformat a friends computer and im not sure of the root to the problem but in the process of reformatting i get an error message saying to check for viruses and uninstall new hardware blahblahblah any help with this would be much appreciated

Seeing that you are reformating, go to Seagate and get the MAXBlast software.
Works well on many drive manufacturers. Goto:
Downloads | Seagate

Got Hitachi? goto:
Support - Downloads and Utilities

If you have a full-version cd of your operating system, I would recommend that you use DBAN v1.0.7 to completely wipe your hd. It is a freeware download, but be warned that it will completely wipe your hd. You will be left with nothing on it except the boot sector. Most full-version cd's will format your hd for you, then continue with the setup. I wish you luck.