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From: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc
Subject: Re: Looking a faster low-level format software
Message-ID: <1991May22.180245.4307@qualcomm.com>
Date: 22 May 91 18:02:45 GMT
References: <91141.003017G22QC@CUNYVM.BITNET> <1991May21.152036.9366@midway.uchicago.edu>
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In article <1991May21.152036.9366@midway.uchicago.edu> valley@gsbsun.uchicago.edu (Doug Dougherty) writes:
>G22QC@CUNYVM.BITNET writes:
>>  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.

It sounds like he was running it through maximum depth testing, which puts
each sector through an incredible amount of tests and takes forever.  If you 
do minimum testing it whips right through it.  SpinRite really wasn't made
to be your primary low-level formatter but rather a maintenance tool.

-- 
Standard disclaimer applies, you legalistic hacks.     |     Ron Dippold