Messages in this thread |  | | Date | Thu, 31 Oct 1996 14:22:46 -0500 (EST) | From | John Alvord <> | Subject | Re: SCSI Sector Size Problem |
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On Thu, 31 Oct 1996, System Administration wrote:
> I think that all you have to do is low-level format the drive(s) and > then they will have the proper size and sector size. If you have access
I was just reading about low level formatting in a book on PC Hardware Upgrade and Repair. At least some modern drives have lost the ability to do low level formatting reliably. There is a cost associated with having precise enough writing mechanism to do the low level format and some manufactures reduce cost by skipping that step... just allowing the low level format commands but not actually doing anything. Other manufactures have cheap write mechanisms which can write to known places but not provide the precise placement needed for an actual low level format.
The bottom line was that on modern drives a low level format might 1) do nothing or 2) damage the drive so seriously a factory reformat would be needed.
john alvord
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