What does "low level formatting" an ATA (IDE) drive mean?Actually the term "low level" is a bit of a misnomer. The low level process first used years ago in MFM hard drives bears little resemblance to what we now call a "low level format" for today's ATA (IDE) drives. The only safe method of initializing all the data on a Seagate device is the Zero Fill option in DiscWizard Starter Edition.Why would I want to Zero Fill my drive?The most common reasons to Zero Fill an ATA (IDE) hard drive are:
The drive has contracted a virus that cannot be removed without destroying the boot sector.
You are changing from one operating system to another and wish to remove everything from the drive.
How do I low Zero Fill my drive?
Zero Filling an ATA (IDE) drive destroys 100% of the data on the drive. Make sure the drive is completely backed up before proceeding.
The Zero Fill option in DiscWizard Starter Edition is the only safe method for use with Seagate hard drives. Some system BIOSs may include a Low Level Format option; use these at your own risk, as this may produce undesirable results.
DiscWizard Starter Edition can be downloaded as a part of the DiscWizard package. It includes two Zero Fill options, partitioning options, and high-level formatting options. Zero Fill writes zeros in each data sector up to the complete capacity of the drive and will clean up some file system defects.
The download routine for DiscWizard Starter Edition creates a bootable diskette. Boot from the diskette to start DiscWizard Starter Edition. After startup, select Utilities Zero Fill Drive (Quick) or Zero Fill Drive (Full). Select the drive you want to erase, then select Zero Fill or Low Level.
Zero Fill Drive (Quick) will write over the beginning of the drive which includes the critical partition information, eliminating all partitions and information on the drive including the Master boot record. This is useful if you have a drive that has a corrupted partition or that you wish to erase to reinstalll a fresh operating system and new data.
Zero Fill Drive (Full) will write over the entire data area of the drive. This is useful if a drive has bad sectors that cannot be fixed by the operating system. This will also erase all the data on the drive, but it will take several hours. When the process completes, reboot the system from the operating system install CD and follow the instructions to prepare (partition and format) the drive and install the operating system.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
ZERO FILL HARD DRIVE LOW LEVEL FORMAT
Environmental Entrepreneur,Green Biz.NRN Murthy of Infosys says that we Indians are weak in execution.We need to realize the need and practice of gud project management. Form a group of competent Managers,Give them responsibilities and review the project from day One.
HARD DISK LOW LEVEL FORMAT
Hard disk low level format
Important drive information (servo, sector layout, and defect management, etc.) is stored in the low-level format at the factory. This information is designed to last the life of the drive and therefore it is not possible to low level the drive outside the factory. Although some drive manufactures and BIOS provided so-called "low level format utilities", they actually perform a write-read verify of the drive’s user data sectors, and do not actually perform a low-level format. In the event of a corrupted master boot record or boot block virus, use FDISK /MBR command to restore the master boot record.If you need to low level format your hard drive then check the drive manufacturer and download such an utility from its website. Every drive manufacturer provides just such a utility. Here is a list of hard drive manufacturers with a links to low level format utilities:Note:If normal (high level) hard disk formatting is required, you can use DOS FDISK command to first erase and create partitions and then use FORMAT. It is also a good idea when you hard disk becomes inaccessible to see if it is just the system files that are corrupted. Most of the time, it is the case. SYS will do the job of replacing system files. Therefore, low level format is always of LAST RESORT when you encounter HDD problems.IBM(Hitachi)http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htmSeagatehttp://www.seagate.com/support/disc/utils.htmlMaxtorhttp://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/index.htmFujitsuhttp://www.fel.fujitsu.com/home/drivers.asp?L=en&CID=1Samsunghttp://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/utilities/index.htmFAQ: Low level formatWestern Digitalhttp://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp
Important drive information (servo, sector layout, and defect management, etc.) is stored in the low-level format at the factory. This information is designed to last the life of the drive and therefore it is not possible to low level the drive outside the factory. Although some drive manufactures and BIOS provided so-called "low level format utilities", they actually perform a write-read verify of the drive’s user data sectors, and do not actually perform a low-level format. In the event of a corrupted master boot record or boot block virus, use FDISK /MBR command to restore the master boot record.If you need to low level format your hard drive then check the drive manufacturer and download such an utility from its website. Every drive manufacturer provides just such a utility. Here is a list of hard drive manufacturers with a links to low level format utilities:Note:If normal (high level) hard disk formatting is required, you can use DOS FDISK command to first erase and create partitions and then use FORMAT. It is also a good idea when you hard disk becomes inaccessible to see if it is just the system files that are corrupted. Most of the time, it is the case. SYS will do the job of replacing system files. Therefore, low level format is always of LAST RESORT when you encounter HDD problems.IBM(Hitachi)http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htmSeagatehttp://www.seagate.com/support/disc/utils.htmlMaxtorhttp://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/index.htmFujitsuhttp://www.fel.fujitsu.com/home/drivers.asp?L=en&CID=1Samsunghttp://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/utilities/index.htmFAQ: Low level formatWestern Digitalhttp://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp
Environmental Entrepreneur,Green Biz.NRN Murthy of Infosys says that we Indians are weak in execution.We need to realize the need and practice of gud project management. Form a group of competent Managers,Give them responsibilities and review the project from day One.
BAD SECTOR IN HARD DRIVE
Bad Sectors
What is a bad sector? A bad sector is a small area on the disc drive that is reporting errors and cannot be accessed properly. New bad sectors, sometimes called grown defects, are often caused by some kind of physical damage. If a file or folder uses this sector, then the file is incomplete or corrupt because the bytes are not readable.
Bad sectors can also be reported if the signal between your drive and host adapter is being misinterpreted. Bad cables can cause this. If you are using an ATA drive made in the last few years you should use an 80-conductor cable. Any ATA product that operates above UltraATA 33 requires an 80-conductor cable for proper signal integrity. ATA cables should also be less than 18 inches in length.
Before continuing, confirm that your cable is 80-conductor, is less than 18 inches in length, and is not damaged. If your cable does not meet these requirements then replace it.
Correcting Bad SectorsSeaTools Desktop Edition can check your drive’s health to determine if any serious problems are present. If you run the long Seagate test then SeaTools desktop can reallocate any empty sectors that are bad. If the sector contains data SeaTools will let you know the sector is bad, but will not attempt to reallocate it.
If you have bad sectors that contain data there are several options available from other vendors. One such option is the disk error-checking utility built into Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
To open the error checking utility follow these steps:
Double-click My Computer, and right-click the hard disk.
On the shortcut menu, click Properties, and on the Tools tab in the Properties dialog box, click Check Now in the Error-Checking Status area.
In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Automatically Fix File System Errors check box, select the Scan For And Attempt Recovery Of Bad Sectors check box, and then click Start.
View Windows help on detecting and repairing disk errors for more information.
Steps to prevent further bad sectors.Improper handling of the drive is the most common cause for bad sectors. See our handle with care videos for more information on how to properly handle a drive.
What is a bad sector? A bad sector is a small area on the disc drive that is reporting errors and cannot be accessed properly. New bad sectors, sometimes called grown defects, are often caused by some kind of physical damage. If a file or folder uses this sector, then the file is incomplete or corrupt because the bytes are not readable.
Bad sectors can also be reported if the signal between your drive and host adapter is being misinterpreted. Bad cables can cause this. If you are using an ATA drive made in the last few years you should use an 80-conductor cable. Any ATA product that operates above UltraATA 33 requires an 80-conductor cable for proper signal integrity. ATA cables should also be less than 18 inches in length.
Before continuing, confirm that your cable is 80-conductor, is less than 18 inches in length, and is not damaged. If your cable does not meet these requirements then replace it.
Correcting Bad SectorsSeaTools Desktop Edition can check your drive’s health to determine if any serious problems are present. If you run the long Seagate test then SeaTools desktop can reallocate any empty sectors that are bad. If the sector contains data SeaTools will let you know the sector is bad, but will not attempt to reallocate it.
If you have bad sectors that contain data there are several options available from other vendors. One such option is the disk error-checking utility built into Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
To open the error checking utility follow these steps:
Double-click My Computer, and right-click the hard disk.
On the shortcut menu, click Properties, and on the Tools tab in the Properties dialog box, click Check Now in the Error-Checking Status area.
In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Automatically Fix File System Errors check box, select the Scan For And Attempt Recovery Of Bad Sectors check box, and then click Start.
View Windows help on detecting and repairing disk errors for more information.
Steps to prevent further bad sectors.Improper handling of the drive is the most common cause for bad sectors. See our handle with care videos for more information on how to properly handle a drive.
Environmental Entrepreneur,Green Biz.NRN Murthy of Infosys says that we Indians are weak in execution.We need to realize the need and practice of gud project management. Form a group of competent Managers,Give them responsibilities and review the project from day One.
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