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SubjectRe: Low-level format with Sg drivers
On Thu, 15 Apr 1999, Chris Wedgwood wrote:

> > Yes, you can.
>
> How? Sending a SCSI format command to them returns more or less
> instantly...

Then how does it happen that scsiformat(8) works for me??? It actually
is a wrapper for the SCSI FORMAT_UNIT command.

> > And it makes sense for bad block remapping. Zip disks deteriorate
> > gradually when used heavily.
>
> why is badblocks(8) not sufficient?

Because it makes the usable area of the disk shrink. Whilst formatting
makes the drive configure the medium to make use of spare sectors/tracks
(automatic remapping is actually controlled with the Error Recovery mode
page).

If you are not convinced that Zips do actually have spare sectors then
`scsiinfo -d -Fphysical <your_zip_device>' will present you with the
manufacturer and the grown defect tables. The latter is usually empty for
brand new disks while the former contains a number of entries differing
from disk to disk.

--
+ Maciej W. Rozycki, Technical University of Gdansk, Poland +
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
+ e-mail: macro@ds2.pg.gda.pl, PGP key available +


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