Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!batcomputer!cornell!vax5.cit.cornell.edu!bqsy1
From: bqsy1@vax5.cit.cornell.edu (Andrew R. Orndorff, Cornell University)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc
Subject: Re: Low level formats of dynamically configured drives
Message-ID: <1991Apr6.101500.3879@vax5.cit.cornell.edu>
Date: 6 Apr 91 10:15:00 EDT
References: <1991Apr3.222702.3848@vax5.cit.cornell.edu> <1991Apr5.180841.4491@p
Distribution: comp
Organization: CIT, Cornell University
Lines: 32

In article <1991Apr5.180841.4491@pdn.paradyne.com>,
roth@pdntg1.paradyne.com (Mike Rothman) writes:
> When you low level format a hard-drive, you are wiping out what DEFINES
> what the drive may be split up into.
>
> In other words, if your first PHYSICAL drive has Drive C: and Drive E: on it
> (NOTE:  If you have a second PHYSICAL drive, its primary partition becomes D:
> That means you used FDISK or somesuch program to partition it into two pieces
> That being the case, a low level format will go below that and wipe that
> partition out as well as the rest of the physical disk.
>
> AKA no formatting of a single logical drive on a physical drive.

       Well, that's the way that I though it worked. After making a backup
of the remaining data and software on my disk, I went ahead and low level
formatted the entire disk - took 4 hours to restore everything correctly,
primarily because I reinstalled a lot of the software from scratch to save
on backing those items; I also changed the partition organization to make
better use of the disk.
       Thanks for your help.

--
       Andrew Orndorff
       CIT, Research & Analysis
       Cornell University
       Internet: bqsy1@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
       Bitnet:   bqsy1@crnlvax5

**Looking for holographic data storage to come into its own - no more DRAMS
or SIMMS, and literally terabytes of disk space - the best part being that
there are no drive heads to crash the disk, and when you turn the power
off, everything stays where it belongs.***