3. Operational Overview
14
low-level formatting provided by the manufacturer. DOS FORMAT verifies sectors,
writes out directory information, and the like. See the preceding question above.
How do I select which drive in a two-drive system is Drive C: or Drive D:?
FDISK is used to partition each drive. In a two-drive system, the primary DOS partition
on Drive 0 will be designated drive C:. The primary partition on Drive 1 will be
designated drive D:. Drive letters are then first sequentially allocated to the remaining
logical drives in the logical partition of Drive 0. The remaining logical drives on Drive 1
are then assigned sequential drive letters. For example, consider a two-drive system
composed of four logical drives on each physical drive. A total of eight logical drives are
distributed as follows.
Drive C:
Fixed Disk 0
Primary Partition
Drive D:
Fixed Disk 1
Primary Partition
Drive E:
Fixed Disk 0
Extended Partition
Drive F:
Fixed Disk 0
Extended Partition
Drive G:
Fixed Disk 0
Extended Partition
Drive H:
Fixed Disk 1
Extended Partition
Drive I:
Fixed Disk 1
Extended Partition
Drive J:
Fixed Disk 1
Extended Partition
Drive C: is assigned to the primary partition in a single drive system. The FDISK
process determines partition size, maximum being 33 Mbytes for DOS version 3.3 and
below. Newer DOS versions allow larger partitions.
What are the shock and vibration specifications for IDE drives?
Because shock and vibration specifications often differ between models and between
manufacturers, presenting a generic specification for all IDE drives would be
misleading. In general, 2½ inch drives fare better than do their 3½ inch counterparts,
mainly because of their smaller mass and more compact design. Please call Ziatech if
you need specifications for a particular drive.
Should I FDISK and FORMAT the disk when I receive the ZT 8952 as an integrated
unit?
All drives are already FDISKed and FORMATted when you receive them. If bought as a
system component the drive has been tested at the system level. The size of the
partitions on larger drives, however, may not be tailored to your particular needs.
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