I'm busy installing XP on an HP Pavilion DV9205US, but it has been busy on the Installing Windows
step, with 39 minutes remaining, for about an hour, if not more. Changes in the HDD light indicate activity, but what activity could take so long? This is with 2 GB RAM on a newly formatted 100 GB HDD.
Update: It's time for a TV break, so I'm going with @Molly's suggestion below.
Update: So, just wanting to see the install underway before TV, my last one was greeted with a fatal error:
One of the components that Windows needs to continue setup cannot be installed. Error performing inpage operation. etc"
The End: I replaced the master (only) hard drive and everything since the install, including the install, has been mega-fast, faster than this machine has ever been before.