DOS command to refresh / load the desktop would be C:\Windows\explorer.exe .

However you have beat me to the punch, so to speak. I was researching for a way to see about testing the hard drive since it seems that it is working so slowly (RW head servo can do that) but the disk error during the format pretty much nails it to a failing hard drive.

If you try that again and it gives you the same error then it is the drive. Sorry.