In article <199806261734.AA11707@voyager.mlb.semi.harris.com>
	moc@mlb.semi.harris.com wrote

  [ ... SunOS format(8) does very low level SCSI things and filesystem
    partitioning as a single utility ... ]

> This is the sort of utility I was refering to. Can I repair a
> defective sector or manage the defect list using "disklabel"?

The answer is no.  And there is no field need to do that as far as
modern SCSI disk drives concern.  It's somehow amusing to know that
the "format" utility (still) allows users to handle defect list
management manually.  The last time when I used SunOS "format" utility
the machine was Sun3/60 with Emulex MD21 and TOSHIBA MK156 disks, such
combination of hardwares required to maintain defect lists.  There is
no need to worry of defect list or surface analysis for (real) SCSI
hard disk drives.

I have read strong cautions telling end users should not perform low
level SCSI format operations because drives are factor-calibrated and
such operations would result in reliability distortions.  Manufactures
tend to educate field engineers NOT to repair newly-defected SCSI hard
disks, rather, just to replace them with good ones.

Tohru Nishimura
Nara Institute of Science and Technology