DIAG displays the following messages after you specify the hard disk parameters:

W A R N I N G

All data on Hard disk you have specified may be LOST...

Do you still want to continue (Y/N)?

Press Y and Enter to start analyzing the hard disk. Press N and Enter to stop the operation.

Performance Test

This test checks the performance of your hard disk. It determines the data transfer rate and track-to-track seek time based on the transfer sire, seek count, and the amount of data transferred.

The interleave factor is the most critical factor in determining disk performance. Changing the interleave factor can drastically change disk performance.

DIAG measures the data transfer rate in kilobytes per second. To measure the data transfer rate, DIAG reads 64KB of data 15 times and counts the number of timer ticks using this formula:

Transfer rate = (64KB x 15 x 18.2) / # timer ticks

DIAG measures track-to-track seek time in milliseconds using this formula:

Seek time = (# timer ticks x 1000) / 18.2 x 200

The number of seeks is 200.

A higher data transfer rate and a lower seek time indicate better disk performance.

System Diagnostics 27