Low Level Formatting refers to the true process of disk formatting operation. It builds the physical format by assigning the location where the data is kept on the disk. The HDD Low Level Format Tool is an application that does or at least comes close to doing this particular thing. The real Low Level Format is done in the factory, while tools such as this one only do zero-fills.
2,276,173 downloadsUpdated: March 22, 2017Freeware
Utility for low-level hard disk drive formatting, with support for SATA, IDE or SCSI hard disks, as well as removable drives of any sizeHDD Low Level Format Tool was reviewed by Bogdan Popa
4.5/5
Make your hard disk drive as good as new
In fact, HDD Low Level Format Tool re-initializes the hard drive to its factory configuration by writing a zero byte to its each and every location on the disk. This fully and irreversibly erases all data (if present) from your disk. The main reason to do this is the attempt to revitalize your infected or corrupted hard drive. Low Level Formatting also hides the bad sectors in order to create a clean and error-free surface for your data.
Thorough info displayed in an intuitive interface
The interface of the application is quite basic and simple. It provides details of the selected device such as model, firmware revision, serial number or buffer size as well as physical parameters, security or queuing features. For drives supporting S.M.A.R.T. technology, you will get info on 'read error rate', 'spin up time', 'power-on time' or 'power cycles'. Hardware temperature can also be checked in this particular section.
Supporting a large amount of brands and models
HDD Low Level Format Tool is able to work with numerous devices, including flash cards, presuming you already have a card reader, as well as with USB and Firewire drives. It supports most hard disk manufacturers such as Western Digital, Seagate, Hitachi, Maxtor, Samsung, IBM, Toshiba or Quantum. Being limited to just 50 MB/s, it might take a while for the process to finish, so it takes approximately 12 hours for a 2 TB drive to be processed.
However, you need to make sure the target device is first plugged in, because the application isn't able to automatically detect new drives, nor is it fitted with a refresh option.
To sum it up
The bottom line is that HDD Low Level Format Tool is the application to use in case you experience constant data corruption, virus intrusion within the MBR or bad sectors. It can surely get your malfunctioning drive up and running yet again as long as the encountered problems have nothing to do with its mechanical integrity.
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I have a hard disk which has some bad sectors on it. And it said when I booted in Linux mint that I already need to replace the hard disk.But I don't have yet the money. I'm just a student. How do I do a low level format? What do I need to do before trying to do it?Is there a particular time span until all of the hard disk breaks down and lose all of my data wen it has already bad sectors on it? How long will a low-level format take, for a laptop with 2Ghz core 2 duo processor and 2Gb ram.
Hdd Low Level Format Tool Ver.4.40 CodeWern AnchetaWern Ancheta
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5 Answers
The terminology 'Low Level Format' as used by MHDD32 and everyone here is incorrect. MHDD32 uses this term to refer to issuing an 'erase' command to every sector on the hard drive. This is NOT what a true 'Low Level Format' is. Writing to every sector will force the drive's firmware to indeed 'recalculate ECC' and also remap bad sectors into spare sectors (if it has any left) - so this is useful for repairing drives with bad sectors (although the disk should really be replaced soon).
A low-level format is a process where the drive writes things like sync marks and sector markers to the disk, which would only not be present if the disk is basically a fresh unmagnetized platter from the factory. A disk that has not been nor ever been truly low-level formatted will therefore be physically unreadable. Writing all zeros to all sectors, or any sectors, requires the basic 'framework' signaling be written on the disk for the drive controller to be able to find specific sectors.
There was a time in the early to mid 80's before Windows dominance where floppy disks were typically sold 'unformatted' - and this low-level format had to be performed for the disk to be useable. The old DOS FORMAT command did the low-level format automatically unless you used the /Q switch for a 'quick format' - which was not possible on a never-formatted disk. Linux has separate commands for the low-level (
fdformat ) and high-level (mke2fs , etc.) format.
The old MFM and RLL hard drives were the same way, but they typically came pre-low-level-formatted from the factory (complete with a sticker listing known defective sectors). But you could perform a true low-level format - one way was to call the low-level format in the controller's ROM directly using the old DOS DEBUG command (http://discussions.virtualdr.com/archive/index.php/t-69312.html). Also read this: http://www.redhill.net.au/d/10.php
IDE drives did not typically provide a user accessible low-level format routine or command and therefore it's not possible to do a true low-level format on these types of drives. You never know what types of diagnostic or debug commands are available on a drive, and what the code on the firmware is capable of doing, but that is the only way a true low-level format would be possible on modern drives.
LawrenceCLawrenceC
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A low level format won't get rid of bad sectors that are already there and LInux has already told you they've been relocated. If Linux says it's time to replace the disk then you're risking a lot by continuing to use the disk. If you can't replace the disk you don't have any good choices. Since you're going to reformat, where are you backing up your files to?
The low-level format time depends a lot on how big the disk is. If it's a true format with a write/read test afterwards it can take a long time (hours) on a large disk.
hoteihotei
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How do I do a low level format?
There are utilities all over the net that might help you here, but your best bet would be to check with either your laptop manufacturer, or if you know it, the manufacturer of your hard disk and either should have a utility. That being said, it's not going to get rid of the bad sectors.
What do I need to do before trying to do it?
Back up your files. A format is going to wipe out all of your information, so you better be sure you have a backup of what's important, as well as your OS installation disks.
Is there a particular time span until all of the hard disk breaks down and lose all of my data wen it has already bad sectors on it?
It's hard to say. It could be tomorrow, it could be months from now. That's the nature of hardware. There's no set time limit on when a disk could fail or completely fail. Given the fact that you're starting to see bad sectors, you might want to see if you can somehow manage to find a new disk.
How long will a low-level format take, for a laptop with 2Ghz core 2 duo processor and 2Gb ram. 8BitsOfGeek8BitsOfGeek
Again, this is hard to say as there are factors in the format. I'd set aside a couple of hours to be safe.
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Check the WARRANTY some hdd have 5 years. Just enter the serial or similar to the manifactors site and it will show if they will replace it or not.
NiklasSNiklasS
Without minding the diagnostic, here is how to low level format your hard drive :
It could take 1 to 5 hours, depending on your HDD capacity.Also, on UBCD you have tons of tools that can help you diagnose a hard drive problem.
My opinion is that a low-level format is a last-hope solution. If you have important data, do a back-up. If you don't, continue using your HDD until you lose it, or until you have some money to buy a new one (an old 80 GB doesn't cost a lot -10$?-, you can find it on ebay or in a friend's abandoned computer)
BaztouneBaztoune
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged windowshard-drivebad-sectors or ask your own question.
Freeware
$3.30
Windows
759 KB
274,504
This HDD Low Level Format utility is free for home use. It can erase and Low-Level Format a SATA, IDE, SAS, SCSI or SSD hard disk drive. Will also work with any USB and FIREWIRE external drive enclosures as well as SD, MMC, MemoryStick and CompactFlash media.
Features:
WARNING: After running this low level format tool, the whole disk surface will be erased.Data restoration is impossible after using this utility!
License terms:
Apps similar to HDD LLF Low Level Format Tool 2
I ordered a bunch of 1GB usb drives from a semi-shady Chinese company. Most of them work just fine, but a couple of them won't let me format them because they are 'write-protected.' There is no write protection switch on the device. I have exhaustively tried the following:
So do all these I/O device errors mean that these USB drives are just totally screwed? Is there any way to get more information about the problem?
Agargara
AgargaraAgargara
4 Answers
My answer to this question is similar to the answer I had given for this questionFlipping the Removable Media bit -- alternatives to BootIt?
To summarize
You can try using Mass Production tools to reprogram the microcontroller in your USB Flash Drive. However this procedure varies for all USB Flash Drives. Most Mass Production tools are used to repair USB Flash Drives or to add or remove CDFS Partition; Some of these MP Tools can also be used to add/remove write protection.
The general procedure to reprogram your USB Flash Drive to add/remove write protection is as follows:
Download and Run Chipgenius and find out the VID and PID of your USB Drive. http://agnipulse.com/2010/03/chipgenius-and-usbdeview-usb-information-tools/
Go to http://flashboot.ru/iflash.html and enter the VID and PID of your USB Drive.Check if there are any MassProduction tools available and download them. Then you will have to figure how to use it.
Check this for detailed guide on how to do this.(In this guide the MPtool is being used to repair a fake USB Drive) http://agnipulse.com/2010/04/how-i-fixed-a-fake-64gb-usb-drive/
Warning - The procedure varies for different USB Flash Drives and you may end up with irreparable USB Flash Drive.
Note:
I have successfully used MPTools on Transcend Jetflash USB Drives for various purposes such as flipping the removable bit or adding a cdfs partition. The MPtool for JetFlash USB Drives is called AlcorMptool and this MpTool has the option to flip the removable bit. Another reason why I feel comfortable to use JetFlash USB Drives is because it can be fixed easily if something goes wrong.
Community♦
bbalegerebbalegere
If the problem is persistent with the drive and you still can't copy files to it or format it after:-
Then your drive is corrupt and needs the internal chipset S/W to be flashed, i.e. repairing the USB software. The steps below will lead you to get a small program to run on your USB memory-stick which is specific to your MANUFACTURER (make) and PRODUCT (model). If you don't want to go through the headache of the manufacturer's technical support then do it yourself as follows:-
It worked for me for my Kingston Data Traveler flash drive. Download qpst tool versi 2.7.399 win7 32bit. It didn't work with all the common options for fixing the USB drive having 'write protected', but the above solution I found after hours and hours of searching online and asking my computer-geeks colleagues.
Hope this helps!
Samy YoussefSamy Youssef
To further expand bbalegere's answer, what I did that completely fixed my exact problem as yours was I used ChipGenuis to figure out what the controller vendor is. ChipGenuis will also tell you the contoller part number which you can use to find the correct flash tool for your exact model of flash drive since there are a lot of tools for a specific vendor.
After figuring that out, I went to this Russian website that listed all sorts of flash tools here:
flashboot.ru
Make sure you're using Chrome so they can translate the website for you.
Click on FILES, then on the right side, find the correct vendor. Mine was Phison. Click on the vendor, and that should bring up all the flash tools available for the vendor. Luckily for me, they had a flash utility tool that was able to reformat the flash drive for me. I also tried every option you did, except for the sacrificial offering - I did not have a goat handy and my dogs are just too damn cute. After spending hours, this is the only thing that would work for me.
Good luck!!
bnc22bnc22
I don't know of anything you can do to fix those errors.
It's highly likely that all your drives are in fact 'fake' - they either report a larger capacity than they actually have, they use substandard factory-rejected flash chips, or both. This is extremely common: in fact, it's virtually guaranteed that any unbranded flash memory bought from China is going to be bad. (I've even got bad name-brand SD cards from 'trusted' Amazon sellers.) The only way to guarantee that you're getting a good product is to buy from a reputable reseller (Newegg, Amazon (and not a third-party 'marketplace' merchant), etc.). Even then, it's a good idea to run h2testw on it before you use it to store files.
I recommend that you try this on all your 'good' drives and see what it tells you.
user55325user55325
protected by Community♦Feb 9 '15 at 14:45
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