CONTROLLING DRIVE LETTERS: At the BIOS level? Somewhere else? (Windows2000 Professional)

[David Maynard]

Please learn to post.




That depends on whether their drives actually do support the Format Track command.

No it doesn't as writing zeroes is writing zeros regardless of what other
commands the drive may support.

If the drives don't then obviously 'they' don't do a Low Level Format.

And they don't.

If the drives do support it, it doesn't necessarily mean 'they' use it too.

Correct, which is why your first claim is nonsense.

Plus, they don't.

And since you can't change sector size and sectors per track with IDE there will be no
real formatting taking place anyway.

This, of course, is the same thing as saying they don't do formatting so
after all that gibberish you've restated what I said to begin with.

And what exactly do you think a Low Level Format would do differently?

A low level format.

Btw, that sentence doesn't even make sense when taken literally.

It does to those familiar with English.

Has nothing to do with modern (IDE) drives.
With all drives the 'format' is done at the factory, none excluded.

False. I've had plenty of drives that came unformatted. Of course, they
weren't modern drives.

You have to go back a long way to where drives came without the drive
controller and you had to low level format it depending on what controller
you were using.

That, of course, is the meaning of (not) 'modern drives'.

But even these drives were preformatted in the factory.
False.

Still, even IDE drives allowed LLF-ing after they became obsolete and
it was actually possible to kill a drive by using the wrong parameters
or breaking off an ongoing LLF.

Not modern ones.

Yes it is,

Shall we quote you? "And since you can't change sector size and sectors per
track with IDE there will be no real formatting taking place anyway."

except that there is no point in doing it, with the drive
already formatted and not being allowed to change sector size.

You can't 'change' it because you can't low level format the drive.

IBM/Hitachi drives do allow reformatting of LBA to Physical location
translation.

'Translation' isn't formatting.

SCSI drives still allow Low Level Formatting.

Not on any modern SCSI drive I am aware of.

 

[Pierre L'Escargot]

No it doesn't as writing zeroes is writing zeros regardless of what
other commands the drive may support.

It's really none of your business.

And they don't.

Don't tell too many people.

Correct, which is why your first claim is nonsense.

Which is why my first claim is nonsense? You have no idea what is going on
here, do you, Maynard?

Plus, they don't.

Don't be nasty.

This, of course, is the same thing as saying they don't do formatting so
after all that gibberish you've restated what I said to begin with.

I don't care what you said.

A low level format.

I haven't heard THAT in a long time.

It does to those familiar with English.

It really makes me mad.

False I've had plenty of drives that came unformatted Of course, they
weren't modern drives.

I bet I can construct a better argument based on your inability to prove the
opposite.

That, of course, is the meaning of (not) 'modern drives'.

That late, huh?

False.

Not possible. I am always right.

Not modern ones.

Not quite.

Shall we quote you?

I know. Nothing matters to you.

"And since you can't change sector size and sectors per track with IDE
there will be no real formatting taking place anyway." You can't
'change' it because you can't low level format the drive.

Nobody around here knows anything about computers. Listen to me and you'll
learn something.

'Translation' isn't formatting.

It's different stages.

Not on any modern SCSI drive I am aware of.

Why are you aware of?

 

[Andy]

Alright. Peter.
Let's take it from the top.
Here's what I'm gonna do.
Please insert PRECISELY where/when I NTFS the remaining 3 drives.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. Low-level format all 4 of the drives
2. Cable FLOPPY + 18 GB SCSI HDD + IDE DVD±R/RW DRIVE
3. NTFS 18 GB through Windows 2000 Professional Setup CD
In Windows 2000 DISK MANAGEMENT
4. Reassign DVD±R/RW drive to . . . T:\
5. Power down
6. Cable D:\ 2 GB IDE, boot
In Windows 2000 DISK MANAGEMENT
7. NTSF D:\, power down
8. Cable E:\ 100 MB ZIP IDE, boot, power down
9. Cable F:\ 181 GB SCSI, boot
In Windows 2000 DISK MANAGEMENT
10. NTSF F:\, power down
11. Cable G:\ 181 GB SCSI, boot
In Windows 2000 DISK MANAGEMENT
12. NTSF G:\, power down, boot
In Windows 2000 DISK MANAGEMENT
13. Reassign T:\ (DVD±R/RW) to -->> H:\, power down
14. Cable I:\ DVD±R/RW, boot, power down
15. Cable J:\ 4X SONY CD-ROM, boot, power down
16. Cable K:\ 24X TDK CD-R/RW, boot, power down
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

You should try it with everything connected. It's easier, and gives
you a better understanding of the process.

[It's my understanding that Windows Setup will assigned a drive letter
to the IDE Zip drive, so the idea is to make it invisible to Setup by
either connecting it to the Promise controller and not install the
Promise driver during Setup, or connecting it to the secondary IDE
port and disabling the secondary IDE port via BIOS setup during
Windows Setup.]

1. Boot from the W2K CD and load the SCSI driver via F6.
2. When you get to the partition screen, no drive should have any
letter assigned to it.
3. Create a partition on the 18GB; letter C: should be assigned to the
partition.
4. Install Windows 2000 to the C: partition.
5. After Windows is installed, it should be C:, and some letters will
be assigned to the optical drives
6. Enable the secondary IDE port in the BIOS setup if necessary.
7. Install all necessary drivers for the storage device interfaces.
8. Run Disk Management; all of your storage devices should appear.
9. Change the drive letters for the optical drives and the IDE Zip
drive to what they should be.
10. Create partitions (only, DO NOT format yet) on the unpartitioned
disks in the order in which you want drive letters assigned to them.
11. Reboot and see if the drive letters are what they should be.
12. Format the partitions.

 

[pcbutts1]

You should try it with everything connected It's easier, and gives you a
better understanding of the process.

Why should anyone try it with everything connected it is easier, Andy?

[It's my understanding that Windows Setup will assigned a drive letter
to the IDE Zip drive, so the idea is to make it invisible to Setup by
either connecting it to the Promise controller and not install the Promise
driver during Setup, or connecting it to the secondary IDE port and
disabling the secondary IDE port via BIOS setup during Windows Setup.]
1 Boot from the W2K CD and load the SCSI driver via F6.

Get rid of SP2.

2 When you get to the partition screen, no drive should have any letter
assigned to it.

Get rid of SP2.

3 Create a partition on the 18GB; letter C: should be assigned to the
partition.

The only people who aren't shits like everyone else are Hitler, Napoleon,
and Genghis Khan.

4 Install Windows 2000 to the C: partition.

I know nothing about computers.

5 After Windows is installed, it should be C:, and some letters will be
assigned to the optical drives 6 Enable the secondary IDE port in the BIOS
setup if necessary.

Get rid of SP2.

7 Install all necessary drivers for the storage device interfaces.

You have spyware.

8 Run Disk Management; all of your storage devices should appear.

My contribution.

9 Change the drive letters for the optical drives and the IDE Zip drive
to what they should be.

Format and reinstall.

10 Create partitions (only, DO NOT format yet) on the unpartitioned
disks in the order in which you want drive letters assigned to them.

Want drive letters assigned to them? Are you mad?

11 Reboot and see if the drive letters are what they should be.

Get rid of SP2.

12 Format the partitions.

The shoe's on the other foot.

 

[JAD]

another useless post... nothing better to do than to mumble jibberish.

 

[Pierre L'Escargot]

another useless post... nothing better to do than to mumble jibberish.

I agree. PLONK!

 

[J. Clarke]

pcbutts1 wrote:

<quoted material interspersed with random abusive and/or irrelevant
interjections snipped>

<plonk>