whats the difference between low level format and regualr fdisk or format c:?

[loosbrew]

im gonna do some diagnostics on my maxtor diamondmax plus 40 HDD with the utility they provide on thier site. i also talked to someone there and they recommended me to do a low level format and that it was better than a normal format c:....is this true? if its is better or different than whats different about it?
i knowive bothered you guys too much already with this dang HDD, thanx so much.

tia
loosbrew

 

[Servnya]

A low-level actually erases all data on the disk, not just the address tables. It also sets the interleave factor and the type of controller that will control the disk. Basically, this is returning the drive to the state it was in when it left the factory.

 

[loosbrew]

sweeeet, maybe i should do that tonight! maybe that will fix my system files being in themiddle of nowhere even after a defrag after a low level format and a clean install of win2k.

loosbrew

 

[jamarno]

Some low level format programs just zero the sectors, but others, probably including Maxtor's, also substitute defective sectors with hidden spares and update the drive's internal (hidden) defect list. If you have defective sectors, then the factory LLF utility should probably be used (data will be erased), but otherwise if your trouble is related to the boot sector and it can't be fixed withFDISK, try IBM's ZAP to erase the first 128 sectors (again, data will be lost).

I've seen Maxtor's LLF program for their old 7000 series IDE drives restore drives when everything else failed.

 

[loosbrew]

yuou think that maxtors LLF wont do anything to the MBR? i just want to erase the entire disk as if it just came from the store. seems like some system files are getting caught in some sectors after an initial install and wont move from there, causing unusually long boot times. alot slower than a friends ata66 maxtor drive!

thanx for the info...

loosbrew