installing NT server 4.0

i am trying to install nt on my computer. the drive has been formated and when i try to do the install nt recognizes the drive but says the drive is unformatted or damaged. and will format the drive. when i hit enter to have nt reformat the drive it says nt can not continue with install drive is to big please select another drive or make the drive smaller. i can not get passed this point of the install. also i tried formating the drive and reinstalling Dos but dos dos says can not read or write to c:
please help and let me know if i need a new harddrive or how to fix.