I tried to install (format & check for bad blocks) on a /dev/hdbx partition that I requested formated as ext3. Well the installer said: "Bad Blocks detected on /dev/hda3 We do not recommend you use this device". And then would not continue the installation! This is not very good: one bad block on a disk does not preclude that the disk is unusable at all. The install should allow the user to continue (and make the filesystem by integrating the knwoledge of the bad blocks... and does not. I got a bit lucky and had another Linux on a different partition, and formatting the partition as ext3 using: mkfs.ext3 -b 4096 -c -c -L /dev/hda actually allowed to properly format and use the partition. I wanted to share this with you and hope that the RedHat 8.0 install integrate this quite simple way to format a partition with bad block(s). In the mean time you only ressource is to be format the partition with bad blocks,from another bootable Linux on the hard disk, or maybe on a Linux bootable CD (which I my view should be available fro ech distribution, to resolve this kind of problem. If you have fedback for other distros in this kind of situation, please post it.

I haven't used redhat for a long time, but couldn't you partition and format the disk from another console while you are installing redhat, and then just tell the installer to use these pre-prepared partitions. The trouble is, when you have a few bad blocks, you are soon going to have many more, as the disk will be near its use by date. I think it is fair enough redhat doing this. People who know what they're doing can circumvent it, and newbies don't get left with an installation (maybe tomorrow, or maybe in six months) which gives inexplicable errors that they don't know what to do wtih.

I respectfully disagree: The user should always have an (informed) choice: going to major contorsions to install is not good. Beside, one (or more) bad block does not at all preclude that a disk is bad. Bad blocks happens on brand new media, and are usually mapped out (hidden) to the user, at the factory, and missing sectors are redirected (several possible algorithms) to good ones. So again: give the user a choice.... And warn, and add an entry in the install log.