Well, there are darned few IDE drives that allow for a "low level format"--i.e. writing out ID address marks. If this utility simply overwrites any data using ordinary write commands, it should say so.
But clearly, if it's getting its information from the drive using the IDENTFY (0ECh) command, it's not using the BIOS. If it's really using the FORMAT TRACK (050h) command, not only is it not using the BIOS, but many non-Maxtor (and even some Maxtor) IDE drives will treat the command as any more than a no-op. The reason is that for most IDE drives, the format pattern is laid down using special equipment at the factory and often contains embedded servo data. It's not customer-rewritable. Add to that, that most later IDE drives used "zoned" recording, so the number of sectors per track isn't constant, no matter what the drive actually reports.
So, exactly what does the utility do and how does it go about doing it?
An IDE drive is not the simple brain-dead device that a ST-412 interface drive is.