Low Level Formatting an ATA (IDE) Hard Drive

What does "low level formatting" an ATA (IDE) drive 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. The only safe method of initializing all the data on
a Seagate device is the Zero Fill option of DiscWizard.
Why would I want to Zero Fill my drive?
The most common reasons to Zero Fill an ATA (IDE) hard drive are:
1. The drive has contracted a virus that cannot be removed without destroying the
boot sector.
2. You are changing from one operating system to another and wish to remove
everything from the drive.
How do I low Zero Fill my drive?

Zero Filling an ATA (IDE) Drive destroys 100% of the data on the drive. Make
sure the drive is completely backed up before proceeding.

The Zero Fill option of DiscWizard Starter Edition is the only safe methods for
use with Seagate and Conner hard drives. Some system BIOSs may include a Low
Level Format option; use these at your own risk, as this may produce undesirable
results.

DiscWizard Starter Edition (formerly Disk Manager) can be downloaded as a part of the
DiscWizard package. It includes two Zero Fill options, partitioning options, and highlevel formatting options. Zero Fill writes zeros in each data sector up to the complete
capacity of the drive and will clean up some file system defects.
The download routine for DiscWizard Starter Edition creates a bootable diskette. Boot
from the diskette to start DiscWizard Starter Edition. After startup, Select Advanced
Options | Maintenance | Options | Utilities. Select the drive you want to erase, then select
Zero Fill or Low Level.
Older versions of DiscWizard Starter Edition do not include the Advanced Options
menu, but the Maintenance Options can be reached by pressing Alt+T at the Main Menu.
When the process completes, reboot the system from a DOS diskette. Run FDISK to
partition the drive, then format the drive and begin installing the new Operating System.