On Saturday, September 25, 1999, 6:26 PM, Dave Gillett
<[log in to unmask]>wrote:


> On 25 Sep 99, at 14:59, raymond kornele wrote:
>
> > >From: Mark Rode <[log in to unmask]>
> > >Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] low level format
> > >Date: Fri, 24 Sep 1999 22:54:41 -0700
> > >
> > >FDISK will not remove corrupt partition tables or corrupt boot sectors
> > >which is why it is sometimes necessary to LLF.
> >
> > ===============
> > Fdisk -is- low level format. The high level format in DOS is called
Format.
<snip>
>   I believe you have misunderstood this portion of the manual; it is
> entirely possible that the wording used by Microsoft may encourage
> such misunderstanding, but it cannot truthfully mean what you believe
> it to say.  Mark Rode's statement above is correct.

Please add the following info to the above sage advice.

Formatting is another necessary step to hard drive preparation.           In
most cases, when installing a new hard drive, all you need                to
do is a high-level format. It is usually the final step in
 preparation.

When preparing a new drive, use the "FORMAT C: /S" command.       This
high-level formats the volume C:, copies hidden operating    system files to
the volume, and prompt you for a label. It marks bad
 sectors as unreadable, writes the boot sector, creates the FAT,
 writes the root directory, and copies system files.

The other type of formatting is the low-level format.  In  general,
 this procedure is already done on your drive when you buy it.
Only on old drive would this need to be done. Certain situations exist
 where you would want to low-level format your hard drive.  I f  you
 need to erase all traces of data on the disk, a low format will
do  this. It will also remove corrupted operating systems or
viruses.   It will also remap the drive so as to reallocate all bad
sectors to other sectors. This basically replaces bad sectors with good
ones. It will make your drive appear to be free of defects.

This process is called defect mapping.  With that said,  "most"
manufacturers recommend that you "never low-level format" a  hard drive. A
low-level format cannot be done with the FORMAT               command. It Is
recommended you get a low-level format program       from the manufacturer
of your drive. These programs are  tailored to work with specific drives and
can sufficiently  trace the defects and
 map them. Visit the web site of the manufacturer to find these
 programs. They are often available for download.  HTH and might clear up
the confusion.  :-)

Walter R. Worth
[log in to unmask]

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