Error code 1516

By "took a hit" do you mean the hard drive was subjected to extreme shock, dropped, etc? Or do you mean a MBR virus?

And what software did you use to "wipe" or reformat the hard drive? Details.

Did you remove the HD and mount it externally, to erase/reformat it? Describe.

Need to know ALL this, to help you. Avoid slang, please.

Error Message:
Error 1516: Partition improperly dismounted (EA3905EC).
Solution:
Solution #1: One possible reason for the error involves the improper setting of a “dirty” flag in a restart record in the journal file, or activity log for a given hard disk. The term flag refers to a yes/no or true/false variable or a specific quantity that indicates the current state of a program or a piece of hardware. This can happen if the system crashed, or lost power while you attempted to create or write to a hard disk.

Running CHKDSK can solve this problem. Click Start, Run, type cmd, and then click OK. The Command Prompt should appear. Next you need to indicate the disk you want to repair. Type cd C:\, and then press ENTER. If you suspect that the error is on a drive other than C:\, substitute the appropriate letter for the drive you want to check. Next, type chkdsk /f, and then press ENTER. This command checks the drive you indicated for errors, while the /f switch fixes any errors. You may need to run the utility more than once to fix all errors.

Solution #2: Another reason for this error involves a conflict with Windows 2000/XP and SMART (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology) error detection, which is a feature of some software utilities. To resolve the problem you’ll need to disable the SMART error detection feature. Consult the utility’s documentation for instructions on disabling the SMART error detection feature. If you can’t turn SMART error detection off, you may need to uninstall the offending utility.

Next, insert the Windows 2000 or XP installation CD into your computer’s optical drive and reboot your computer. At the Startup menu, press R to access the Recovery Console. Type chkdsk /p and press ENTER. Reboot the computer and attempt to run DriveCopy. If SMART error detection was successfully disabled, then you shouldn’t encounter the error anymore.