on 11/12/00 15:00, Marc Sira at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>> A while back I bought a Maxtor 13gig IDE drive for a desktop Mac. One of the
>> warning I got from someone was not to do a low-level format of the drive as
>> this could render it "unseeable" by the Mac. Seem like it wipes out drivers
>> or does something to block zero but I can't recall exactly as it's been a
>> while.
>>
>> That warning just sticks in my mind about not doing a low level format on an
>> IDE drive that is not made specifically for the Mac.
>>
>> You may need to find someone with a Windoze laptop and have them reformat
>> it. Then put it back in your PowerBook and initialize it as described above.
>
> This is simply not true. A driver installer utility (Drive Setup,
> HDT, Anubis, etc) can see the drive if it's present and functioning;
> it doesn't need a driver or any particular contents. Indeed, that's
> the whole point. The Finder can't see any disk volumes until the disk
> is partitioned by one of those utilities, though. Drive Setup itself
> "wipes out drivers and does something to block zero".
>
> Second, there is no way to do a low-level format on an IDE drive -
> the drive has no concept of it (unlike a SCSI drive). This is why the
> option is dimmed in Drive Setup. The most you can do is write zeros
> to every block, which is probably a waste of time unless you've just
> bought a new blank drive and want to test it for bad blocks (and
> there are better ways to do that too). Drive Setup will always
> rewrite any or all of block zero, the partition table, and the
> contents of the driver partitions when you do something to the disk
> anyway.
>
> Offhand it sounds like Laurent's disk has simply kicked the bucket.
That's pretty much what I think. It's just a bit surprising that it did this
all of a sudden, but I guess that's the nature of mechanic and why you
should do backups. Fortunately for me, I didn't have anything important on
the drive, so it's not too bad, about $70 lost. I will survive I think...
-Laurent.
--
============================================================
Laurent Daudelin <http://home.cox.rr.com/nemesys>
Logiciels Nemesys Software mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----------
Duo/2400 List, The friendliest place on the Net!
A listserv for users and fans of Mac subportables.
FAQ at <http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/DuoListFAQ.shtml>
Be sure to visit Mac2400! <http://www.sineware.com/mac2400>
To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Need help from a real person? Try. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
----------
Dr. Bott | Great Duo & 2400 stuff including 10/100 Ethernet for 2400s!
Dr. Bott | Duo Batts too <http://www.drbott.com/prod/alist/duo.html>
NineWire | If they are cool enough to host this list...
Digital Solutions | ...you should check them out! http://www.NineWire.com/
PowerBook Guy is | Click here!
Everything PowerBook! | http://www.powerbookguy.com
Midwest Mac Parts ][ <http://www.midwestmac.com>
After-market parts for Macs. ][ 888-356-1104 ][
MacResQ Specials: LaCie SCSI CDR From $99! PowerBook 3400/200 Only $879!
Norton AntiVirus 6 Only $19! We Stock PARTS! <http://www.macresq.com>
