🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4ckrq6$a1u@nntpa.cb.att.com>
           jcm@pegasus.bl-els.att.com "-John McMillan" writes:

>Now let's think about it:
>1) "Tracks" are formatted: formatting a disk is just formatting each
>        track on that disk.  There aren't any strikingly new technologies
>        on IDE disks: these are "regular" disk technologies with
>        regular controller technologies and a special IDE adapter
>        interfacing the disk and a local cache to the IDE controller.

You're forgetting embedded servos.

>2) The s/w to format a track is negligable: you make a track-image and
>        perform a format write.  The original BIOS's were capable of
>        this repetitive track formatting in a negligable stub of s/w:
>        it's a -small- task, not a big one.

For drives that use embedded servos rather than a separate servo
platter this will erase the servo information. At that point you either
junk the hard disk or send it back to the factory to get the servo
information rewritten.

Modern drives should safeguard against this however. Typically they
implement format as a simple defect scan and bad sector remapping (possibly
wiping the disk contents). 

>        -If- purging his disk low-level re-formatted it, then -why- does
>        this latest poster assert that special equipment is necessary to
>        re-format?

Because he knows what he's talking about.

-- 
-----------------------------------------
Lawrence Kirby | fred@genesis.demon.co.uk
Wilts, England | 70734.126@compuserve.com
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