Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!bu.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!mlb.semi.harris.com!trantor.harris-atd.com!charybdis!sonny From: sonny@charybdis.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware Subject: Re: Low-level format of hard disk Message-ID: <4463@trantor.harris-atd.com> Date: 10 Oct 90 14:43:19 GMT References: Sender: news@trantor.harris-atd.com Reply-To: sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com (Bob Davis) Organization: Advanced Technology Dept., Harris ESS, Melbourne, FL Lines: 32 In article jc58+@andrew.cmu.edu (Johnny J. Chin) writes: > >I agree that low-level formatting a drive will reclaim some bad spots and is >relatively easy to do. However, reclaiming bad spots may be bad because the >bad spot could have come about from use, thus reclaiming it will cause bad >data later during use. In general, I don't recommend low-level formatting >the drives regularly; do it only when you need to. Generally, the "bad spots" reclaimed by low-level formatting will be those that have "gone bad" because of head-positioning errors that have accumulated since the last low-level format. That is, with time, the heads sometimes drift slightly relative to the tracks laid down during the last low-level formatting. Low-level reformatting ensures that the new tracks are laid down under the heads' current positions, wherever they currently find themselves. Low level formatting will still lock out any marginal quality sectors. Truly bad places on the plated media won't be erroneously "rejuvenated" by the act of low-level formatting. > >I do recommend the use of a track aligning utility and/or a deframenting ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What, please, is this? What exactly does a "track aligning utility" do? Can you please give the name of one or more such utilities? Thanks. ______________________________________________________________________________ Bob Davis, UofALA'66 \\ INTERNET : sonny@trantor.harris-atd.com | _ _ | Harris Corporation, ESS \\ UUCP : ...!uunet!x102a!trantor!sonny |_| |_| | | Advanced Technology Dept.\\ AETHER : K4VNO |==============|_/\/\/\|_| PO Box 37, MS 3A/1912 \\ VOICE : (407) 727-5886 | I SPEAK ONLY | |_| |_| | Melbourne, FL 32902 \\ FAX : (407) 729-2537 | FOR MYSELF. |_________|