🚀 go-pugleaf

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|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+