mac is making me mad

i need help
i have a powerpc 5500/225
i want to install mac os 8.5 so i can install linux
problem
in order to format the hdd i have to make a utilitys disk
ive tryed making one but after 40 disks it ses each is defective and i cant find mac formatted floppies anyware in town and it would cost 4.85 + 7.95s&h to order from staples
i need a tool for windows or linux that will format floppys for mac
ive had this computer sitting here for 2 years cause the hdd went and ive been trying to fix it since
im about ready to throw it out the window
i need any advice u can give me even if it doesnt go with my question

Maybe the floppy drive is also defective?

it would read and write disk befor the hdd went
maby il see if i can find one on ebay
and since when did mac use ide hard drives cause thats what this thing has
i thought they were wall scsi based

I don't know much about Mac's, but I'm guessing that the IDE thing has something to do with the fact that it's a PowerPC, and not a regular Mac.

I have two PowerPCs lying around that I have no use for, I can probably dig the floppy out of one if you need. PM me if you're interested.

Actually come to think of it, I could probably make you a utility disk image. Then you could rawrite it to a disk... I'll get back to you in a bit.