Mac Mini Hard Drive Falure?

A year or so ago my mac mini (core 2 duo 1.66) started taking a super long time seeking for folders or performing simple tasks. I would get the beach ball spinning for forever. So I decided to reinstall my OS (original OS 10.4) and it hung up half way through the process each time I tried (same place too). I tried to format the hard drive and I ended up having to go into the bios and delete the hard drive or something before it would let me format. I can't recall the exact steps (sorry) because it was a year ago, but I had found the directions on a forum. Still it will not reinstall my OS. I am thinking that I need a new hard drive. They are cheap, and I could install it myself. Any thoughts? Again sorry if I left some details out, just let me know.

Installing a new hard drive in a Mini is fairly straight forward. The most difficult part is opening up the Mini without damaging it. Take a look at the instructions for swapping out the hard drive at the ifixit web site. Have your model number on hand and look up the step by step. iFixit: The free repair manual

Thanks for the link, so it sounds like you concur that I have a bad hard drive. I'm looking into a replacement and checking out the repair guide.

Thanks!