Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!uxa.cso.uiuc.edu!uxf.cso.uiuc.edu!rjk752
From: rjk752@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Hard Drive Woes: HELP!
Message-ID: <46300079@uxf.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 22 Nov 89 04:38:00 GMT
References: <6832@portia.Stanford.EDU>
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Nf-ID: #R:portia.Stanford.EDU:6832:uxf.cso.uiuc.edu:46300079:000:1063
Nf-From: uxf.cso.uiuc.edu!rjk752    Nov 21 22:38:00 1989


	There isn't any way to format a single partition.  However, the
new ICD utilities will allow you to check for bad sectors in a single
partition.  Set the retries high, so that it checks them several times.
This will definitely catch any bad sectors, and should write them into
a table.  The hard drive won't try to access the sectors in the bad-
sector list.
	The last response sounds very likely though.  I set my ICD utils
for 200 extra folders, since I've got *lots* of them.  Watch out especially
when you do BACKUPS of your hard drive.  You can end up with garbage backups
that have some folders, but other folders are gone (couldn't be opened 
successfully, I guess).   When your drive goes, the hidden flaws in your
backups will become *very* obvious.  I know from experience.
	The moral:  Allocate some variable space in your brain to store
the current number of open folders (a rough estimate will do).  When you
approach the limit, reboot.  You may have to save a partition at a time
even with over 100 folder limit.  I still do with 200, to be safe.