1069, please read the OP's thread completely before posting; they have already used disk managment in attempts to diagnose the problem.

If you can get the disk model; go to the hitachi webiste; download disk manager or ogt, depending on what model drive; there are other apps to create a boot cd, for disk manager 4.11 etc..

Ensure that all your cables are connected correctly; that the sata cable doesn't have any major kinks in it that may cause a break in the sata cable; same with the power cable etc.. Start your computer and enter the bios setup; check to ensure that the sata channel is enabled; and that your new drive is being detected. Once you have verified that it is up and running/detected by the bios etc.. Boot the Hitachi utillity, run the disk fitness test, as well as format the drive using ntfs or fat32; either one is OK, but as 1069 has mentioned, ntfs is recommended due to the size of the disk as well as your current OS.