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Date: Thu, 11 Apr 1996 18:06:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: Richard Chang <richardc@CSUA.Berkeley.EDU>
To: Joerg Wunsch <joerg_wunsch@uriah.heep.sax.de>
cc: questions@FreeBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: hard reading error
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On Fri, 12 Apr 1996, J Wunsch wrote:

> As Richard Chang wrote:
> 
> > > No.  No known (to me) operating system does hardware-format the hard
> > > disk before installing.
> > 
> > 	So, is this the same as the low level format?
> 
> Very low format.  What you're usually offered as ``low-level format''
> (e.g. by some BIOSes in the section ``disk utilities'') is the MFM
> format command.  IDE drives don't obey it, all they do when being
> faced with it is zeroing the disk, but *not* lowlevel reformatting
> their surface.
> 
> As i wrote: you need a separate tool by your disk vendor.  There seems
> to be a semi-standard, so it's possible that some other tool will also
> work, but it must be clearly labelled as being an IDE formatting tool.

	Hmmm, now does anyone know if Conner has a Internet site?

Richard