Hi Matthew,
You could get lucky and fix the problem just be reloading the software without reformatting the drive. But it could be that the hard drive is bad...If reloading the software doesn't do the trick, then I would try a new hard drive....If there was only a 40GB drive installed, this could be an opportunity to get some more space for your folks....

Let us know what happens....

Randy
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Happy owner of 2 Centrals, 2 Empegs Mk2a 160GB, 1 Empeg Mk2a 60 GB, a Rio Riot, 4 Rio Receivers, and two 1GB iPod Shuffles...