Low Level Format
Enverex
Worcester, UK Icrontian
I need a program that will allow me to initiate a true low level format on a USB drive.
All the ones for manufactueres will only detect internal drives, not ones housed in external enclosures.
On the same note, this machine is Dual Booting with Linux, so if there is an easy way to initiate a Low Level format from within Linux then I can do that (I can easily talk to the device by using /dev/sda).
The drive housed in the enclosure is a VERY old Hitatchi 540MB IDE drive.
Thanks,
NS
All the ones for manufactueres will only detect internal drives, not ones housed in external enclosures.
On the same note, this machine is Dual Booting with Linux, so if there is an easy way to initiate a Low Level format from within Linux then I can do that (I can easily talk to the device by using /dev/sda).
The drive housed in the enclosure is a VERY old Hitatchi 540MB IDE drive.
Thanks,
NS
0
Comments
Are you wanting a true low level that locks out the bad sectors and recertifies the disk etc... or just wanting it erased basicaly?
Tex
Because it's a 2.5" drive, and it doesn't fit in my laptop.
And I am "wanting a true low level that locks out the bad sectors and recertifies the disk etc"
NS
Your best bet would be emailing tech support at a company like Ontrak that used to provide the low-level utilities for several of the major drive companines and now sells their own suite of drive utilities perhaps. Your prob really is you have to run drivers to see the USB drives usually and to low level they want direct access to the disk with no softare between the low-level utitlity and the disk surface basicaly. The driver would keep them from doing what has to be done is what I am trying to say. Have you checked guys like IOmega or guys like them that sell usb based drives and are big enough to maybe of written their own special software that might address your needs?
Tex
It seems like it may be better to go the Linux root as that can detect the drives easily and has the freedom of DOS at the same time (in relation to being able to do things without the complaint of it being in use or having to restart).
Theoretically, As Linux works with the /dev/ system, I dont need a special utility, just one that will do a low level format.
NS
Tex
The utilities CAN talk directly to the drive, even if a driver is loaded. This can be shown by using the hdparm utility in Linux and setting drive peramters such as speed, accoustic management and other things that you normally need the manufacturers software for.
It basically just acts as a passthrough.
Also low level formats are just initiated by sending a command to the drive, which also wouldn't be affected by these type of drivers.
NS
Thats how you get a defect free drive when you get a modern ide drive. With older esdi or scsi you you had a defect list from the manufacturer you entered when you low leveled it before the OS formated it. This locked out the bad sectors. Over time most disks (especially if they are bumped while running etc...) have more bad sectors creap in. NTFS has the ability to lock out more sectors and move the contents to another area of the disk even. thus "recovering the bad sector" But no longer is the data continguos in some cases either as it "moves" the bad sector to a new place on the disk. By doing a true low-level you lock out all the bad sectors before the OS formats and see's them.
My fancy scsi raid controllers have advanced abilitys to detect and move bad sectors on the fly even. But its better to lock them out at the disks bad track table then letting teh OS do it if you have many bad sectors or have severely damaged areas. I ahve areas of my raided maxtors that were so bad the OS would hang on them making nasty noises even trying to format them. You could partition around them sort of to avoid them but a truw low-level locks them out so the OS never see's them again.
See?
Tex
NS
Right......................
Tex
The same reason BIOS flashing USED to have to be done from DOS (which can now be done because Windows has changed the way it handles hardware) or the same reason FDisk has to be done in DOS. It's not the drivers, it's just how WINDOWS handles the hardware itself, not allowing certain access, or 'real-mode' access to the drives either.
Low Level Format DOES issue a single command to the drive, in which the drive handles everything itself untill it has finished, which is why Low Level Formats now cannot be done on drives because the drives are issued the command and due to new drives not needing to low level format they just return the Ok, or in some cases as has been stated, they wait (pretending to do something) then return the all clear. The true low level format is built into the Firmware, which is another reason why you specifically need your manufactuers own software to perform a low level format.
NS
I keep getting write errors whenever I try to save something on my PNY Attachè USB drive. My friends are having the same problem, and the tech guys at PNY don't seem to know what they are doing. I just can't find a low level format utility that will work on our drives. I have tried Active@'s killdisk, but it only works on IDE/ATA/SCSI stuff.
I looked at the D-Ban page on sourceforge, but it looks like it only works on hard drive type stuff too. I don't have time to try it...it's off to work for me. I am at school, and I don't have a net connection at home.
I found a lot of utilities by searching google, but they are all made for a specific vendor.