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From: tjm@hpldsla.HP.COM
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: Low level format for RS/20 Vectra 327Mb DD
Message-ID: <3140012@hpldsla.HP.COM>
Date: 13 Jan 90 01:07:55 GMT
References: <5410@arctic.nprdc.arpa>
Lines: 47

|Does anyone know how to perform a low-level format on
|an HP RS/20 Vectra 327Mbyte Disk (Western Digital
|ESDI Controller)?

I don't know the real answer to this.

|WHY DO YOU WANT TO, YOU ASK?
|==========================
|In order to install Unix on an HP RS/20
|327Mbyte system, according to the folks at Interactive,
|a low-level format is required.

I assume you want to install 386/ix v2.01 or greater.

|BTW, I attempted to run the "initialize hard disk"
|which I assumed would do a low-level format
|from the hp supplied setup program --BUT the message
|"hard disk has been pre-initialized" appeared
|and would not initialize the disk.

I beleive that this only formats the 40 Mbyte disks.

|Any ideas? experiences?  HELP?

I was able to install 386/ix on an RS/20 with a 300Mb
disk after a few go arounds with Interactive.  What 
worked for me was to tell the Interactive install utility
to fromat the disk when it prompts you if you want to.
Don't use the HP utilities to format the disks.  Interactive
did recommend that I not use their format utility.  I
went against their recommendation as a last resort and
things have worked since.

If your disk has less than about ten bad tracks you don't
need to low level format the drive at all.  386/ix
chokes if you have more than that and aborts the install. 

The primary problem is the way HP formats it drives it 
marks bad tracks.  386/ix expects only bad sectors to be
marked and can only handle a maximum of 255 bad sectors.
With bad tracks marked a 300Mb drive will have a lot more
than 255 bad sectors typically.  Supposedly Interactive
will have a new version of 386/ix that can handle drives
that mark bad tracks rather than bad sectors more efficiently.

T J Merritt
tjm@hpldsrl.hp.com