Ben eens gaan zoeken, het lijkt erop, dat hetgeen fabrikanten als low level format doen voorkomen in werkelijkheid geen lowlevel format is. Dus gewoon zonder risico lekker low levelen (boemberdeboem !!:P) die schijf.
http://www.hitachi.com/storage/support/hddFaqAnswers.html
If possible, how do I low-level format my Hitachi disk drive?
Important drive information (servo, sector layout, and defect management, etc.) is stored in the low-level format at the factory. This information is designed to last the life of the drive and therefore it is not possible to low level the drive outside the factory. Although some drive manufactures and BIOS provided so-called "low level format utilities", they actually perform a write-read verify of the drive’s user data sectors, and do not actually perform a low-level format. Hitachi do not provide such utility.
http://www.tdn.net/support_faq_hard.html
Do I need to low level format my drive and if so, how do I do this?
You cannot low level the disk drive. The servo, sector layout and defect management information contained in the low level format is designed to last the life of the drive. This information and the way it is written cannot be duplicated in any way outside of the factory. Drives manufactured today ignore low level routines.
Some manufactures do have routines they label as a low level formatter. These routines actually perform a write-read verify of the drive's user data sectors, they don't actually low level the drive but can sometimes be used to purge the drive in the event of a corrupted master boot record or boot block virus.
http://quantum.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/quantum/solution?11=000803-0008&130=0965315740&14=&2715=&15=&2716=&57=search&58=&2900=tdexYD7BdI&25=6&3=low%20level%20format
I need to low level format my Bigfoot drive, how do I do this? (FAQ #000803-0008)
Description:
You cannot low-level format the disk drive. The servo, sector layout, and defect-management information contained in the low-level format is designed to last the life of the drive. This information and the way it is written cannot be duplicated in any way outside of the factory. Drives manufactured today ignore low-level format routines.
(This FAQ applies to Bigfoot, Bigfoot CY, Bigfoot TX, and the Bigfoot TS ATA hard drives.)
Solution:
Some manufactures do have routines they label as a low-level formatter. These routines actually perform a write, read, and verify of the drive's user data sectors, they don't actually low-level format the disk drive. However, these type of utilities can be used to purge the drive of a corrupted master boot record, a boot block virus, or to clear any recoverable bad sectors or clusters. Quantum's DataEraser utility has these capabilities and can be downloaded free from our web site.