thomas@bnlux0.bnl.gov (Richard A. Thomas) (03/16/89)
What is a good text to consult to learn more about low-level formatting of
hard-disk drives on AT-clones? I have read ``The Hard Disk Companion'' but it
doesn't give any details. I am interested in what software does low-level
formatting and how low-level formatting for disks with servo-tracks differs
from other disks. Also what do all the terms mean in a technical sense
(``precomp'' for example). I know that some controllers have a low-level
formatting program in their ROM, but what do the terms used in the questions
asked by these programs mean?
Other software (Spinrite) does low level re-formatting, but doesn't let
you tell it which sectors you want to have marked as bad. If you don't
change the defaults the first time you run it, the sectors that the
manufacturer believed to be bad may be automatically recovered. Are there
re-formatting programs that let you undo this?
Also, when a hard disk is partitioned, the first sector defines the parti-
tioning. Is there a reference that explains what each of the bytes in this
sector mean? For example, some software (Ontrack) creates logical drives by
creating partitions that are not recognizable by FDISK of DOS 3.3. So FDISK
can't delete or modify them. I have discovered which byte to change that lets
me convert these partitions into EXT DOS partitions so I can modify them, but
I would like to know more about what I am doing.
Richard Thomas