Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
DevilsPGD wrote:
>In message <OTQMzTLuFHA.3896@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl> Frank Rizzo
><none@none.com> wrote:
>
>
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>>DevilsPGD wrote:
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>>
>>
>>>In message <OXAG$Y#tFHA.692@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl> Frank Rizzo
>>><none@none.com> wrote:
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>>>
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>>>>Is there a utility out there for low-level formatting SD disks? Or a
>>>>utility that can delete and re-create partition on an SD disk. The disk
>>>>is corrupted somewhat and Windows XP can't seem to format it. I don't
>>>>need a picture recovery tool (i already have that).
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>There is no such thing as a low-level format for an SD disk.
>>>
>>>Low-level formatting is the process of outlining the positions of the
>>>tracks and sectors on the hard disk, and writing the control structures
>>>that define where the tracks and sectors are.
>>>
>>>Flash disks simply don't have anything similar, nor do they have moving
>>>heads which would need to be aligned.
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>>I beg to differ. When you load the SD card, check the total space. For
>>a 1GB card, it'll be 976 MB. The rest of the space is devoted to the
>>FAT-like structure. The bottom line is that if that structure gets
>>messed up you can't format the card any longer. And that's when you
>>need the low-level format utility (which accesses that space).
>>
>>
>
>That's still not low-level formatting though, that's just regular
>formatting. Low-level formatting defines the physical location of the
>tracks on the disk, partitioning and formatting define the file system
>(FAT12/FAT16/FAT32/NTFS being the most popular in WinXP environments)
>
>0.976GB=1000MB, perhaps that's what you're seeing?
>
>
Ok, I didn't make myself clear. Perhaps formatting is not the right
word. Perhaps a low-level utilty that re-initializes the card.
As far as 0.976GB - it is not that - it's 976 Mb, which is different
from 0.976GB. The card is 1GB - 1024 MB.