Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!dali.cs.montana.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!news.larc.nasa.gov!ipsun.larc.nasa.gov!jcburt From: jcburt@ipsun.larc.nasa.gov (John Burton) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc Subject: Re: Looking a faster low-level format software Message-ID: <1991May22.173915.4052@news.larc.nasa.gov> Date: 22 May 91 17:39:15 GMT References: <91141.003017G22QC@CUNYVM.BITNET> <1991May21.152036.9366@midway.uchicago.edu> Sender: news@news.larc.nasa.gov (USENET Network News) Organization: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA USA Lines: 53 In article <1991May21.152036.9366@midway.uchicago.edu> valley@gsbsun.uchicago.edu (Doug Dougherty) writes: >G22QC@CUNYVM.BITNET writes: > >>Hi, > >> I've tried SpinRite II to low-level format my hard disk, but I >>don't like it because it takes too much time (38 hrs. for a 42MB > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (WOW!) >>hard disk). Can anyone name me a or a few faster low-level format >>software? I know that those software will still take a lot of >>time. Thanks in advance. > > >Assuming that's not a misprint, it works out to about an hour per >megabyte. That's just crazy. There must be something wrong somewhere. > >I've been getting a lot of practice lately LL formatting old 10 meg drives >and have noticed that when I do it with DEBUG (g=c800:5), it takes a >while (about 10 minutes), but that when I do it with QAPLUS, it seems to >take forever (like about an hour to an hour and a half). I remain >unconvinced that QAPLUS does any better of a job... >-- > > (Another fine mess brought to you by valley@gsbsun.uchicago.edu) Using DEBUG (g=c800:5) generally assumes you're using a Western Digital Disk controller (thats the starting location for the WD formating/setup program that is installed in firmware on the card). 38 hours *IS* totally out of line...formatting a 65meg RLL using the WD firmware routine (c=g800:5) takes < 1 hr (not sure how much less, I ate dinner while it was formatting and it was finished when I returned) Using ONTRAC's Disk Manager, it took *about* the same time as the WD routine. I *did* have a low level format take several hours once, but then again the disk was flakey and I never was able to use it properly... Formatting a 40 meg disk should NOT take 38 hours regardless of the software you're using...if it does, I'd begin to suspect a problem with the disk or controller... John +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | John Burton | | G & A Technical Software | | jcburt@gatsibm.larc.nasa.gov | | jcburt@cs.wm.edu | | | | Disclaimer: Hey, what can I say...These are *my* views, not those | | of anyone else, be they employer, school, or government| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+