Hard Disk File System Error!!!

I don’t think if the title of my thread is good enough. My problem started when i installed a flavor of Linux called Linspire. I installed the Linspire operating system in my hard disk but i didn’t notice what kind of file system i used. When i installed Windows XP i can’t convert it anymore into a fat or ntfs files sytem but the conversion starts and end up on 10%. I tried to install the hard drive in a motherboard with higher upgrades or technology but still the hard drive can’t be converted into fat/ntfs >>> in short my 40gig hard disk is not working and it’s been in my closet for four months. guys give me an advice.