+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Subject: |   Using the MXTFMT.EXE Low Level Format Program       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Nr: |TN-9512-003 | Revision: | 03 | Date: |  29 March 1999       |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Model:   |  MXT-540A Hard      | Product:  |     MXTFMT.EXE      |
|          |  Drives Only        |---------------------------------+
|          |                     | Version:  |         1.2         |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Summary: |  This Technical Note describes the steps to be        |
|          |  followed to perform a low level format on a Maxtor   |
|          |  LXT series hard drive using the MXTFMT.EXE program   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Disclaimer: |This Document is provided as is without any warranty|
|             |of any kind, either expressed or implied. In no     |
|             |event will MAXTOR CORPORATION be liable to you for  |
|             |any damages, including any loss of profit or        |
|             |savings, arising out of the use or inability to use |
|             |the information contained in this document. Maxtor  |
|             |Corporation makes no representations or warranties  |
|             |with respect to the contents hereof and specifically|
|             |disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability |
|             |or fitness for any particular purpose.              |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                            Y2K Ready                             |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  The functionality of Maxtor utility programs are not affected   |
|  by the date (year). None of these programs use calendar dates,  |
|  therefore they are not affected by the coming century date      |
|  change.                                                         |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

The MXTFMT.EXE program is ONLY to be used with Maxtor MXT-540A 
Series Hard Disk Drives. The MXTFMT.EXE program will Low Level 
format the hard drive and restore the media to its original factory 
format.

NOTICE: The MXTFMT.EXE program is provided as is without any warranty 
of any kind, either expressed or implied. The entire risk as to the 
quality and performance of the program is with the user. In no event 
will MAXTOR CORPORATION be liable to you for any damages, including 
any loss of profit or savings, arising out of the use or inability to 
use this software. Maxtor Corporation makes no representations or 
warranties with respect to the contents hereof and specifically 
disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for 
any particular purpose.

! WARNING !
-----------
All data on the drive will be lost when using this utility. Back up your 
data before running this utility. Maxtor recommends removing any other 
hard drives from the system before using this utility.

MXTFMT.EXE should ONLY be used if these criteria are met:
---------------------------------------------------------
 The Maxtor hard drive is a MXT-540A IDE/AT Series hard drive.
 The hard drive MUST be installed on the primary port of the system.
  NOTE: The MXTFMT.EXE utility is effective SOLELY on Maxtor MXT-540A 
  hard drives. Contact Maxtor Technical Assistance 
  (1-800-2MAXTOR option #1) for available low-level format utilities
  and/or diagnostics for other Maxtor products.

MXTFMT.EXE can be obtained from the following:
----------------------------------------------
 Maxtor Utilities Diskette (MUD) version 7.0 or higher
 Maxtor's World Wide Web Site. Download the file named 
  "MXTLLF.EXE".
  NOTE: MXTLLF.EXE is a self-extracting file containing the MXTFMT.EXE file.
  Please see "Extracting MXTLLF.EXE" for proper file extraction procedures.

Extracting MXTLLF.EXE:
----------------------
This file is compressed, and self-extracting. Prior to extraction, Maxtor 
recommends that user's copy MXTLLF.EXE to a formatted, DOS (5.0 or higher), 
Windows 95, or Windows 98 3.5" floppy diskette.
1. Insert the floppy disk containing MXTLLF.EXE in the appropriate floppy 
   disk drive and establish operations at that drive's DOS prompt.
2. At the command prompt, type "MXTLLF" and press the [Enter] key. At this 
   point, two files will be extracted to the floppy disk:
    MXTFMT.EXE - Low Level Format Utility for Maxtor MXT-540A hard drives
    MXTFMT.TXT - Text file giving procedures to run MXTFMT.EXE
     NOTE: MXTFMT.TXT is this document.

                              Technicians Overview
The following is a brief synopsis of how to run the MXTFMT.EXE utility:
 Clean boot the system to the A: prompt
 Insert the floppy diskette containing the MXTFMT.EXE
 Change to the appropriate directory path containing the MXTFMT.EXE utility
 Type MXTFMT and press the [Enter] key
 Type (B) for "Format Drive" and press the [Enter] key 
 Type (A) for "Format Certify, use P and G lists" and press the [Enter] key.
 If the format completes with No-Errors, partition and high level format via 
  the operating system. If any error is encountered and the MXTFMT.EXE returns 
  an Error Code, the drive is no longer usable, verify the hard drive's warranty 
  status and contact Maxtor Customer Service (1-800-2MAXTOR option #2) for 
  Out of Warranty Upgrade options.

                                OVERVIEW COMPLETE

===================================================================================

                              Step by Step Procedure
The following is the step by step procedures to Low-Level Format the hard drive 
via MXTFMT.EXE:
1. Clean Boot to A:\> prompt with a DOS system disk.
2. Insert the Maxtor Utility Diskette or the diskette containing the downloaded 
   uncompressed file in the 3.5 inch Floppy Disk Drive and establish operations
   at that drives prompt.
3. If using the Maxtor Utility Diskette type "cd llfdiag\mxt" and press the 
   [Enter] key. The DOS prompt will change to {drive}:\llfdiag\mxt>.
4. Type "MXTFMT" and press the [Enter] key. This will execute the low-level program 
   and the following screen should appear:

                M X T - A T L O W - L E V E L F O R M A T U T I L I T Y

                                   Drive Address 1F0 hex
                                 Rev. 1.2  C. Stone  08-17-93
   
                                  A) Read Drive ID

                                  B) Format Drive

                                  C) Read Defect List

                                  D) Toggle Drive Address

                                      X)  EXIT

5. Type (B) for "Format Drive" and press the [Enter] key. The following screen 
   should appear.

                                   FORMAT DRIVE

                           HDA Format                Features
                           A) Format Certify, use P and G lists 00 hex
                           B) Return to Main Menu

                           Enter Selection

6. Type (A) for "Format Certify, use P and G lists" and press the [Enter] key.
7. If the low level format completes with No-Errors, partition and format the 
   drive with the operating system. If any error is encountered and the MXTFMT.EXE 
   returns an Error Code, the drive is no longer usable. Customers may wish to 
   contact Maxtor Customer Service (1-800-2MAXTOR option #2) if interested in Out 
   of Warranty Upgrades.