IMac G5 won't regonize internal hard drives !!!

Hi
Trying to solve this problem on a friends iMac G5 (1.8MHz). The problem started when one of his children experienced some sort of "freeze up" while using the computer and, so he says, couldn't reset it so pulled the plug. To be fair, there was also a power failure in their neighbourhood earlier that day and the computer would have been in sleep mode when this occured. But it worked for the kid at least after that.
The problem since that plug was pulled is that the iMac won't boot properly. It starts fine but stays on the Apple logo with the spinning icon indefinitely, and the fans go to full power after a minute or two. It's all pointing to a corrupt Hard Drive but I fear it may be more complicated/serious/expensive than that. We have tried FireWire Disk Mode, where we get the FW icon screen, but fails to mount on the other Macs. We have tried Data Rescue II, but it fails to see the HD. We have tried Apple Disc Utility on a Tiger Installation DVD, but it fails to see the HD. And, the Apple Hardware Test disk that came with the iMac reports no problems.
Still concerned with ultimately retrieving the data from the original 80GB drive but taking this as an opportunity to upgrade the drive we purchased a new HD (Western Digital Caviar SE 250GB 16MB SATA II 7200rpm) which another user on this forum installed successfully, but the iMac also does not see this HD.
So, I know the next test is to plug the old HD into a SATA Mac (don't have one to use at this time) just to see if this original drive has been hosed, but we are stuck as to what the problem is. I've reseated any and all cables I can, and reset PRAM and SMU.
Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated, before it gets expensive with Apple as the warranty has expired.
Simon
iMac G5 17" 1.8MHz Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Hello,
I have to disagree that this issue is not solved. The problem with the drive corruption is the primary issue, not how to format a new drive. I have the same issue repeatedly.
iMac G5 1.6Ghz 1.25G RAM 80Gb SATA seagate, X 10.4.6
Whenever I POWER OFF the machine, the drive gets corrupted. If I leave it run or sleep it, there is no problem. I can do a restart without trouble, but if I do shutdown, I am hosed. This has happened 3 times now and so far the data recovery has been less than satisfactory. Data Rescue can get back files, but not the right names or locations.
I purchased the unit directly from Apple sale site as a refurb. Actually ordered a 1.8Ghz with superdrive, but received 1.6Ghz combo. Apple refunded me $150 if I would just keep what I got, so I eBayed my own superdrive and installed.
Reason I know it is after a power down because I left on vacation twice and relocated the computer once. Other than that, its always on. Those 3 times, drive corruption.
ISSUE NOT SOLVED!

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My new iMac ( summer 2010 - July 2010 ) internal Hard Drive is failing..
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I believe that the internal hard drive is failing..
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D.F. wrote:
Done! Installed a new HD following the instructions of this site. Everything works perfectly again.
Yay!
But I'm still disappointed that my original internal hard drive chose to die two weeks after my AppleCare three-year warranty expired!
The original HD was a Western Digital. Is WD a crappy brand?
You'll get widely different opinions on that. Many folks say their --cheap-- inexpensive ones are "junk;" others say they've had several that ran for years.
Some say the ones Apple uses are better quality -- not quite server grade, but better than the run-of-the mill consumer products.
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"...when the "genius" at the Apple Store said I could install an additional internal hard drive, I gave it a whirl... if I could get this all hooked up and power-supplied, where in the world would I put the new, additional hard drive?"
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Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
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