Windows has been shut down to prevent damage

If it is an isolated error, and all your scans turn up nothing, then you can stop worrying about it.

How ya doing, buddy?

And you say Spinrite says the drive is clean?

In any case, I would be very suspicious of a drive that croaks during a Windows setup, so I'd recommend you use a different one instead.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Could be a problem with the original computer then. Swap the hardware (motherboard, cabling, power supply) or try another hard disk on it.

Most amazing jew boots

Did the other hard drive work?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, looks like you've ruled out the hard drive and the motherboard as problematic, since an IDE drive worked and another did not.

Fresh out of ideas, though I'm still thinking that the motherboard must be to blame somehow!

I was speaking idiomatically.