Leopard won't install on my MBP!!!!!

[Superhands]

Apologies if this particular problem has been answered on another post already. I tried searching the forums but couldn't find anything relevant.

Ok, so i've been running leopard on my 17" MBP (2.16 Ghz) for almost a year now and i've had no problems until yesterday.....when my MBP decided that life simply wasn't worth it anymore and died on me

So i wept a single tear and starting searching for my installation disc. (Thankfully i DO back up my important data )

Re-installing has proved to be more difficult than expected though. I ran Disk Utility first to verify the hard drive and it came up with a message saying "invalid node structure". The repair function also failed to yield any results.
Next, i ran a zero-out erase and verified the hard drive again. "The volume Untitled appears to be OK" (Win win win!!!)

However, when i tried to install the OS, it got about halfway through the installation and stopped, telling me the installation failed.

"Failed to mount to /Volumes/Untitled"

So i turned it off and restarted the installation process. It got about halfway again, and stopped doing anything. I powered down once more and tried once more. This time it was successfully installed, but when it restarted, it got to the grey screen where the apple logo, prohibited sign, and ? folder cycle randomly.

What should i do?????

 

[HLdan]

It's not Leopard, it sounds like you have a failing hard drive, this is most likely the reason the computer wasn't working well after time went by. If you have AppleCare or if it's been under a year of ownership you should call Apple or take it to your nearest Apple retail store.

 

[hiddenpremise]

That reeks of a hard drive failure. They will kinda teeter on the edge of appearing good and failing right before they drop off. Grab yourself one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136197

 

[Superhands]

Thanks guys. I did fear the worst, just needed it confirming.

Oh well, this gives me an excuse to get a 7200 rpm 320gb HD
might get a cheeky ram upgrade too ........

 

[blodwyn]

Don't forget that when you've installed your new hard disk, you need to boot from your install DVD, go into Drive Utility, and format your new hard disk before you can install OS X on it.

I've seen a few panicky posts here where folks have installed their new disk and can't do the install because the installer can't find the hard disk, so I thought I'd mention it and maybe save you a few gray hairs