I'm changing a HDD on a Compaq machine (from the original 30GB to a used 160GB Barracuda) and during the XP setup phase, it's taking an unusually long time to perform an HD format (not quick format) ...

Windows XP won't let you format your C: drive from within Windows XP. Microsoft put in "suicide" prevention basically that kept people from accidentally formatting the C: drive, now Windows is smart ...

You can format your HDD, SSD, Memory Card, etc., using these free file system management tools or FAT32 format tools. Windows File Explorer is the default option you can use to format a drive in FAT32 ...