Hard Disk Format - Texas Instruments TravelMate 4000M User Reference Manual

Diagnostics

Hard Disk Format

When you select the Hard Disk Format, the program
displays the Format Fixed Disk menu.
Use the cursor keys to highlight the hard disk you want
formatted or analyzed, and press ENTER. After you have
selected a hard disk, the program displays a warning that
the formatting operation will erase any data currently
stored on the hard disk.
If you do not intend to format or analyze your hard disk,
press N; otherwise, press Y to continue, and the program
displays a menu listing the drives, heads, and cylinders
under test.
Bad Track Table
The center portion of the Format Fixed Disk menu displays
the list of currently recorded bad tracks. This list is central
to the processing of most of the format functions.
Bad tracks are areas of the hard disk that cannot store
data properly. A list of the bad tracks detected by the drive
manufacturer is usually provided with the hard disk drive
when it is purchased. Some of these areas may work
intermittently, but are not dependable for storing data. The
program formats these tracks with a special attribute so
that other programs or commands (such as the
MS-DOS
command) will not attempt to use bad areas on the
FORMAT
disk.
The bad track list is modified automatically by the
SCAN
command, the command,
BAD TRACKS ANALYZE SURFACE
and the command. Each of
FORMAT PREFORMATTED DRIVE
these functions adds to the list bad tracks they detect
during their processing.
D-12 Diagnostics