Best Low Level Format Tool DOS

[twisted31]

What is the best executable to run in DOS to do a low level format. I would like to zero fill bad sectors.



Thank You

 

[lakimens]

You mean the command prompt?
If so, read on the command named "diskpart".
Usually it goes like this(I might miss something so google it):
diskpart
list disk
select disc x
active
clean
create partition 1
format fs=ntfs
exit

 

[twisted31]

Will that work with bad sectors? Because I know bad sectors make partitioning slower. I just need a good low level format tool that can work with bad sectors.

 

[lakimens]

I'm not sure, I don't think anything works with bad sectors.

 

[Paperdoc]

Actually, nobody can do a "Low Level Format" any more - that operation can only be done in the factory when the HDD is made. BUT you most certainly can do a Zero-Fill, and it should do what you need.

DBAN is freeware that can do a Zero Fill for you. But you probably also can get such a tool free from the maker of your HDD, whatever company that is. IF your HDD is from Seagate, get their Seatools. If it is from WD, get their Data LifeGuard. Both of these are wide-capability diagnostic tool kits for their company's products, and both include a zero fill utility.

Both Seatools and Data Lifeguard. come in at least two optional forms, and you download the one you want. If you will run the utility package as an application under Windows on a working computer just to service a secondary HDD unit, get and install their "For Windows" version. On the other hand, if you want a version that you can boot and run from with NO working HDD in your system, get their "For DOS" version. This latter is actually a single .iso file, which is an image of a complete bootable CD. You must then burn this to a blank CD using a software tool like Nero that can burn .iso files, and a CD burner. When it is ready, you put the CD in your optical drive, set up your BIOS boot priority to try the optical unit first, and let it boot from there. It will load a small version of DOS into RAM, create a virtual disk in RAM for writing log files, and show you a menu of choices of diagnostic tests and tools you can use AFTER you make SURE that it is set to operate on the particular disk you are trying to service.

When you run a Zero Fill utility from whatever source you get, it fills absolutely every Sector of the HDD with zeroes. This take a long time and destroys any old data! But for you, OP, the real bonus is someting less obvious. This process of writing to every Sector also triggers a self-diagnostic routine inside the HDD unit itself - something that Windows and DOS don't even know about .As each Sector is written, the HDD will then read it back and test the signal quality. If the signal is good, nothing else is done for that Sector. But if it is weak or if it fails, the HDD will update its own records never to use that Sector, and will replace it with a know-good one from a stock of spare good Sectors it knows about from its original manufacturing process. Under normal circumstances, by the time the Zero Fill is finished and this self-diagnostic process has completed, the HDD will appear to the outside world (read, Windows) to have NO flaws or Bad Sectors. Now, there is a limit to how many Bad Sectors can be replaced this way. Part of the SMART data monitoring system built into HDD's checks how many such replacements have been made in the life of this unit. If it gets too high, the SMART system will send out a warning (if you let you computer access the SMART system) so that you know about it. If you get such a message, replace the HDD very soon. If you don't, it will continue to develop more Bad Sectors and eventually run out of spares so it cannot fix itself.

The advantage of the Seatools or Data Lifeguard utility packages is that they also contain many other diagnostic tools for you to check your HDD unit. I believe DBAN also has many such tools, but I just have not used it.