UNFORMAT--Notes

Limitation on the UNFORMAT command

If the FORMAT command was used with the /U switch, UNFORMAT cannot restore
the disk to its previous condition.

Unformatting a disk

The UNFORMAT command can restore your disk by using information in the root
directory and file allocation table on the disk.

As UNFORMAT rebuilds the disk, it displays how many subdirectories it has
found; if you specified the /L switch, it also shows you all files in each
subdirectory.

If UNFORMAT finds a file that appears to be fragmented (that is, stored in
separate places on the disk), it cannot recover the file because it cannot
locate the remaining portions of the file. In this case, the UNFORMAT
command prompts you to confirm whether you want UNFORMAT to truncate the
file (that is, recover only the first part of the file that it can locate)
or delete the file altogether.

If UNFORMAT does not prompt you for a specific file, that file is most
likely intact. In certain circumstances, however, UNFORMAT may not recognize
that a file is fragmented, even though it has located only a portion of the
file. If this happens to a program file, the program does not run properly.
If this happens to a data file, information is lost and the program that
created the data file may not be able to read it. In these cases, your only
recourse is to restore the files from your original floppy disks or backup
files.

Sector size of the hard disk

The sectors on your hard disk must be 512, 1024, or 2048 bytes.