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Low Level Format
Low level format refers to a type of hard disk formatting with aspects that go beyond regular formatting. With regular formatting, the hard disk content is simply overwritten (the => FAT only in most cases).
Low level formats are different in that the disk partitioning is altered. This means that the physical structure is changed.
Hard disks have sectors and tracks that form logical units located on a metal disk that can be magnetised. Low level formats rewrite this partitioning and reset the tracks/sector limits/…
This type of procedure is no longer required with newer AT disks. With SCSI disks this is done with the controller BIOS (with Adaptec, this is accessible with the Ctrl-A command, for example.
So why use a low level format now? If a disk detects many bad sectors (such as the ones noted in Scandisk, for example), a low level format _may_ help.
If the disk is no longer accessible and peculiar error messages occur, a low level format can also help… still, a low level format is a rather extreme measure at the hardware level and should not be performed routinely every two weeks :)
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