DOS feature on formatting disk

[Randy McLaughlin]

From: "Dwight K. Elvey" <dwight.elvey at amd.com>
> Hi
> DOS has an irritating feature when asked to format
> a disk. If track 0 is partially readable it will
> fail to format, even if you use the /u option.
> I've been moving data from one machine to another
> and the source machine has a flaky drive. It sometimes
> trashes track 0.
> I've found that the only way to get around this problem
> is to wipe the disk with a strong magnet.
> Why can't it just try to format first and then check
> track 0. Why must it fail to format because track 0
> is partially readable when I specifically asked it
> to unconditionally format?
> Dwight

Try picking up the format program from freedos/opendos and see if it does 
the same.  If needed it may be able to be modified.


Randy