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RookieFri Dec-14-01 08:50 AM
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"HD format problem"


          

i trying to format a 1.6gb hd and as the format progresses i get a message stating "trying to recover allocation unit". as the % of completion goes so does the size of the allocation unit. it has taken about an hour plus to complete 50%. while formating it indicates that the drive being formatted is only 1.2gb. should i let this go to completion or is this hd a paper weight? thanks,



Rookie (aka Lamer)


Rookie

  

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Replies to this topic
Subject Author Message Date ID
RE: HD format problem
Dec 14th 2001
1
RE: HD format problem
Dec 14th 2001
2
RE: HD format problem
Dec 14th 2001
3
      RE: HD format problem
Dec 14th 2001
4
      RE: HD format problem
Dec 15th 2001
5

ShellyFri Dec-14-01 09:27 AM
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#1. "RE: HD format problem"
In response to Rookie (Reply # 0)
Fri Dec-14-01 09:29 AM

  

          

You have bad clusters on the drive that format is attempting to repair as it goes. Let it finish and see how many bad clusters are reported.

A drive that size is not good for much these days.

Shelly

  

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NytOwlFri Dec-14-01 09:31 AM
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#2. "RE: HD format problem"
In response to Rookie (Reply # 0)


          

Rookie,

Use the drive manufacturer's dianostic utility if you can.

For Western Digital it's Data Lifeguard tools ver. 2.8 , for Maxtor it's Maxblast.

NytOWl

  

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RookieFri Dec-14-01 09:04 PM
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#3. "RE: HD format problem"
In response to NytOwl (Reply # 2)


          

thanks Shelly & NytOWl. i agree the hd is of not little use but i latched on to an old 133mhz w/ baby at and i'm trying to get it running (as a learning tool and i have an older friend who has never had a puter & i thought if i(with lots of help from the great people at pc911) could get it running it would give him a way to email his children.

i have another 1.2gb hd but when i did a clean install with w95 & w98 i noticed it has an ezbios overlay. can someone tell me how i delete this ( from the clean install tutorial here on pc911 it states that i should not use fdisk if there is an overlay...if so how do i do the clean install. thanks.




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old dudeFri Dec-14-01 10:40 PM
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#4. "RE: HD format problem"
In response to Rookie (Reply # 3)


          

These small drives can be used to stash stuff on and then hidden. What Shelly said. Let it go on maybe even overnight. It'll mark those bad sectors and ignore them next time around. Problem is, if you have that many bad sectors then you really can't count on the rest of them holding up and a newbie is going to get this machine it may become more of a problem for him.

  

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NytOwlSat Dec-15-01 05:46 AM
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#5. "RE: HD format problem"
In response to Rookie (Reply # 3)


          

Here's what I found at WD's support site...
http://www.wdc.com/support/techinfo/
about removing EzBios.
------------
Question
How do I remove EZ-BIOS from my Non- Western Digital drive?

Answer
The Data Lifeguard Tools software can be used to remove the EZ-BIOS program installed on a non-Western Digital drive.

The software will not run without a Western Digital drive installed, so make sure it is connected to the system while removing the software from the other non-Western Digital hard drive.

Boot to the Data Lifeguard Tools diskette. Instructions for downloading and extracting this software are available by clicking on the link below.

At the main menu, select "EZ-Install" by highlighting it and pressing Enter. Data Lifeguard Tools EZ-Install will start to load, bringing you to a Welcome Screen; press Enter to continue past this. The License Agreement will now be shown; press Enter to continue past this. You should now be at the main menu of EZ-Install.

At the main menu of EZ-Install, highlight "Advanced Options" and press Enter to select it. From the Advanced Options menu, highlight "EZ-BIOS Setup" and press Enter to select it. A message may appear informing you that EZ-BIOS is needed to control your drive and offer to install it. Answer "No" if it asks this. A box will appear showing you the drives that you have installed in your system, highlight the correct drive and press Enter to select it. Once the correct drive is selected, another menu will appear, and an option labeled "Controlled by EZ-BIOS" will be listed. To the right of this option it will say "Enabled". Highlight that line and press Enter to change it to "Disabled". Highlight "Save the changes and exit" and press Enter.

EZ-BIOS is only disabled at this point and has not been completely uninstalled. Remove the Data Lifeguard Tools disk and reboot into Windows. The drive should now appear under My Computer and you should be able to access your files. If so, reboot to the Data Lifeguard Tools disk and navigate to the EZ-BIOS Setup menu by following the steps you just performed. After selecting the correct drive, the option "Uninstall EZ-BIOS" will now be shown. Highlight this option and press Enter to uninstall. Exit the program and reboot the system without the diskette in the drive. Your system BIOS is now controlling the drive normally.
---------
Even though a Non- Western Digital drive is involved here, I think you can still use the procedure.

NytOwl

  

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