do any body have a link to download a free good low level formatter

Check your BIOS software... usually press ESC when the pc is booting and enter into setup... have a look in there and you may find something in regards to disk utilities and it may contain a low level format option. For the newer drives you need to get specific software for your disk. But before you go and try a low level format just answer me this how old is your Hard disk? You should really only consider carrying out a low level format if the drive is new and needs to be low-level formatted or you are having serious problems with the drive such as surface errors. DIY low-level formats are not recommended because the low-level format, if done incorrectly, can completely stuff a hard drive, making it useless. Let me know how you went... I am quite interested.

Have you tried the hdd makers website? Normally provide a llf that can be downloaded and obviously it is the best one for their hdd's. However, please advise exactly why you require a llf, as it should only be used as a last resort. Good luck - keep us posted.

Why do you feel you need to Low Level Format anyway? What does "low level formatting" mean? Actually the term "low level" is a bit of a misnomer. The low level process first used years ago in MFM hard drives bears little resemblance to what we now call a "low level format" for today's ATA (IDE) drives. A better name for today's low level formatting utility is intermediate- or mid-level formatting. This is sometimes referred to as the "initialize" or "re-initialize" process. The basic purpose of a mid-level format is to erase everything currently on the drive. Why would I want to low level format my drive? The most common reasons to low level format an ATA (IDE) hard drive are: The drive has contracted a virus that cannot be removed without destroying the boot sector. The drive is developing bad sectors at an increasing rate. You are changing from one operating system to another and wish to remove everything from the drive. You want to 100% destroy data on a hard drive before disposing of it. My Hard Drive Preparation Page at PowerLoad describes this in more detail.

P.S. to above. DO NOT USE BIOS 'LOW LEVEL FORMAT' It can damage some modern harddrives. Download the recommended utility from the Harddrive Manufactures Support Page.

P.P.S. What is called a `low level format' these days is not a format at all. It is just a utility that writes zero bytes to every sector on the drive.

A real Low Level Format can only be done at the factory.