Patent ID: 7546436

Claim:
A method for formatting a storage device into a plurality of blocks of a block size, comprising: reserving a set of bits within each of the plurality of blocks to store a pattern; reserving a checksum field within each of the plurality of blocks to store a checksum; formatting the storage device into the plurality of blocks; and during the formatting, writing the pattern into the set of bits within each of the plurality of blocks, wherein no checksum value is written to the checksum field during the formatting; wherein the formatting comprises executing a SCSI FORMAT UNIT command, further comprising: setting a FMTDATA field in the FORMAT UNIT command field within data structures of the FORMAT UNIT command; setting an IP field in a DEFECT LIST HEADER field within the data structures of the FORMAT UNIT command; setting a PATTERN TYPE to be hexadecimal 01 in an INITIALIZATION PATTERN DESCRIPTOR field within the data structures of the FORMAT UNIT command; and setting an INITIALIZATION PATTERN LENGTH and an INITIALIZATION PATTERN field in the INITIALIZATION PATTERN DESCRIPTOR field within the data structures of the FORMAT UNIT command.