need advice formatting drives

I have 2 new Toshiba 4TB hard drives, and I will be formatting them this weekend. Normally, I do the full format instead of the quick format, to check for and mark bad sectors. This is the first time I've formatted 4TB drives - the highest I've done previously is 3TB.

I'd like to format them in my 2 external 4-bay enclosures (1 new drive in each enclosure). Is there any problem with formatting both drives at the same time in different enclosures? That would save a lot of time for me.

Also, does Toshiba have drive software for disc testing, like Seagate Tools or WD Diagnostics Tool? If not, can either of those be used on the new Toshiba drives?

I use Partition Wizard free Disk Surface Test for checking disks.

Or use Disk Check

Downloads | HGST Storage Toshiba acquired by WD (at least partially), right? Or was it Hitachi? or both?

Is it even possible to format 2 discs at once using Windows disk management? I've never tried that before? I always formatted 1 disk at a time.

No idea :) Let us know how it goes if you try that!

Is it still a good idea to format a large 4TB drive with full format? I worry that's a lot of strain on a new drive, writing 4TB straight through like that, but then some say it's a good way to test a new drive for faults.

TVeblen said:

You do not need to treat new hardware like a newborn child. It was made to work, so work it!
If a new piece of hardware is defective and is going to fail I would rather it happen right away, not after I have been using it a while.

That said, I have stopped doing a full format on brand new drives (I still do it on used drives). I rely on surface scans and SMART reports instead. That is not the best way to test a new drive, but it is practical given how much time it takes to full format very large drives.

Good point about rather having the hard drive fail now than when it is full of important data. I don't mind letting it format overnight so I'll do that to put the drive through it's paces.

Is there a way to access any log after formatting that would show the results of the format?

TVeblen said:

Not with a Windows format that I know of.
You can run a hard drive diagnostic test on the drive - either Chkdsk or one from the manufacturer - and that will give you test result info.

Is there a diagnostic tool for Toshiba drives? I know Seagate has Seagate tools and WD has WD Diagnostic. Does Toshiba have their own tools or can I use WD Diagnostic on a Toshiba? How about Hitachi drive fitness - will that work on a Toshiba drive?