Windows 7: Problems re-installing 7. Possibly a bad drive?

I am having trouble re-installing Windows 7 after a clean format and I'm beginning to believe my drive has actually gone bad. I believe this because I have tried multiple times to do a clean install and the install process runs much slower than what it has any other time I have tried to install Windows 7 on any other computer. The farthest I've gotten was into the "expanding windows files" but even that took me 12 hours. Even just to format the hard drive took just a little over an hour. Ive tried removing all my ram but one stick, still no luck. Also everything but my monitor, keyboard, and mouse are unplugged from the pc, and all BIOS settings have been restored to default settings. Motherboard is an Asus P7P55LX. I'm starting to run out of idea's besides maybe that the drive is trashed. Any other suggestions would be appreciated though.

Have you used Diskpart to clean the disk? That may or may not help, but you should try it.

I'd also download the drive manufacturer's disk utility and run it on the disk to see if it comes up with any problems.

Are you using a burned install disk, a retail disk, an OEM disk, or what?

Its a burned disc. I've burnt 3 different copies now on dual layers at 4x, all verified, and all 3 have had the same problem. Original files were downloaded from the MSDN so I'm not worried about those. Will try diskpart though. Thanks.

Boot the HD maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan to check the HD. Then use the tool to wipe the HD or Diskpart Clean Command from installer Command Line accessing DISKPART At PC Startup.

Next format an NTFS Primary partition marked Active from Step 2.2 in SSD - HDD Optimize for Windows Reinstallation. Run a full Disk Check from the installer Command Line.

Now try install. If it still is a problem test your RAM - Test with Memtest86+ for 5-6 passes or overnight. Work through these other Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7.

You can monitor the SMART status of drive from desktop using CrystalDiskInfo - Software