Windows installation problem Error Code 0x80070017

[AnkakeUdon]

My PC had a BOOTMGR problem on boot-up and it wouldn't fix through the command prompt fixes. (fixmbr, rebuildbcd, chkdsk) So I thought I'd do a clean install. I formatted everything on the drive, and continued to do the installation. (Installing Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit) What ended up happening was, the files were corrupted or missing, but what I didn't understand was that the CD was OEM that came with the computer. The computer had that version of Windows before I formatted.

I was previously having S.M.A.R.T pop up on start-up, prompting me to push F1 to continue, but I disabled it because I thought it was annoying and found no problems with my hard drive until now. I accidentally cut into the S-ATA cord from the CD-Drive to the motherboard, but it's still intact. I thought that was the case, so I tried installing from USB and that didn't work either, ended the same way.

I've tried leaving only one stick of RAM intact (2GB) out of 4GB and taking out the battery on the motherboard, using the VGA output on my old GFX card, none of which solved the problem.

How exactly do I fix this? By fix, I mean let Windows install without any problem.

Specs:
Motherboard: ASUS M4N68T-M V2
Core: AMD Phenom II 840 3.2ghz Quad Core
Graphics: ATI Radeon 5450 (512mb, currently intact)/ATI Radeon 6950 (Not intact, as it doesn't have VGA output)
RAM: 2 x 2GB

(I put this under the wrong category, please fix)

 

[Ztruker]

If you were getting SMART popups then it's quite likely your hard drive is having problems. Run the vendor diagnostic.

Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
Bootable Hard Drive Diagnostics

Next, replace the SATA cable.

 

[AnkakeUdon]

I did the test, and got the Technical Result Code of 720244F5. This means my Hard Drive is faulty and needs to be replaced correct? The hard drive happens to be a 1TB Hitachi drive. So this won't be a cheap repair, and I don't want to end up buying the wrong thing.

 

[Ztruker]

How old is the drive? They often have a 5 year warranty if you bought it from s computer store instead of it being included in the computer when you purchased it. Check here: Warranty/RMA

 

[gregrocker]

Good time to upgrade to an SSD which gives the biggest performance boost available.

Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 steps are the same for retail.

For future reference, line commands are old school as Win7 repairs are mostly automated now: Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot