CompuServe Messages

as Brian Cowan mentioned in one of his replies to me on this thread, recognizing the SCSI FORMAT UNIT command doesn't mean the drive will even actually do it – Brian mentions that some drives simply return a 'operation successful' reply to such a command – and I think there are probably good reasons why this is so especially on newer variable sectors per track drives. I'm not even sure the heads are fully capable of resolving the magnetic flux densities and detail required to properly format such drives. You are right about IDE, these are all factory formatted, too, but I did indeed mean to refer to SCSI as almost all (anyone correct me if they know of a counterexample) stuff coming out now is indeed factory 'low level' formatted. I believe most newer scsi drives AUTOMATICALLY recognize bad sectors whenever encountered and remap them completely transparently to the user and completely independently of the low level format process. This is certainly the implication of much of the manufacturer info I've been getting on newer drives. I think the on-board smarts are much smarter these days than the SCSI standard requires. The drives are much much more sophisticated and faster than even two years ago. The new technology I'm encountering as I try to keep up to stay competent at selling drives intelligently is extraordinary! There is more there than meets the eye.