Path: utzoo!utgpu!cunews!mitel!testeng1!huis From: huis@testeng1.misemi (Stephen Hui) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc Subject: Re: The real story with IDE drives and low-level formats Message-ID: <6122@testeng1.misemi> Date: 18 Jan 91 21:22:04 GMT References: Reply-To: huis@testeng1.UUCP () Distribution: na Organization: Mitel CAE Services Lines: 14 IDE drives are pre-low level formatted in factory. All you have to do is FDISK and FORMAT. You can low level format IDE only if you have the right software, e.g. Disk Manager 4.3 for Seagate, which will low level format all Seagate IDE drive. Norton Utilities & Spinrite will work on IDE drive but incorrectly. They are fool by the drive and take the translated mode as the drive parameters. I did re-formatted an IDE drive Seagate ST-157A with Spinrite II. Spinrite II reported the same transfer rate with any interlave (1 to 7 or 8), and I just let Spinrite II re-formatted the drive as the initial interlave. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Stephen Hui uunet!mitel!testeng1!huis Mitel Corporation Tel: (613) 592-2122 X4959 Kanata, Ontario, CANADA Fax: (613) 592-4784