When installing XP, what's the difference between a quick format and the regular kind?

[TechnoPro]

Other than one takes considerably more time, what are the actual differences? Out of habit, whenever I format a brand new HDD, I choose the full formating, and then the quick on subsequent reinstalls.

EDIT - I was lazy... Here's the answer from the horse's mouth.

 

[Netopia]

IIRC, a full format (on NT bases Os'es) does a check on every sector of the drive. A quick format just formats it (and it amazes me how fast it happens).

On Win9x systems, a Full format is formatting the drive and a quick format just deletes all files and directories.

Joe

 

[keeleysam]

full formatting goes over the whole drive with 0's, quck jsut overwrites the partition table.

 

[TechnoPro]

Originally posted by: keeleysam
full formatting goes over the whole drive with 0's, quck jsut overwrites the partition table.

Not true. See here.

 

[Netopia]

When you choose to run a regular format on a volume, files are removed from the volume that you are formatting and the hard disk is scanned for bad sectors. The scan for bad sectors is responsible for the majority of the time that it takes to format a volume.

If you choose the Quick format option, format removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad sectors. Only use this option if your hard disk has been previously formatted and you are sure that your hard disk is not damaged.

If you installed Windows XP on a partition that was formatted by using the Quick format option, you can also check your disk by using the chkdsk /r command after the installation of Windows XP is completed.

That info is faulty, even though it's on MS's page.

Think about this... you can take a brand new drive out of the static back and quick format it with NT/2000/XP. There is no pre-existing format and no files to be removed. Bad MS info.

Joe

 

[Nothinman]

Think about this... you can take a brand new drive out of the static back and quick format it with NT/2000/XP. There is no pre-existing format and no files to be removed. Bad MS info.

It's just bad wording, the point is still correct. A quick format creates a new blank MFT and nothing else, a full format creates a new blank MFT and then checks for badblocks on the volume.

 

[Netopia]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Think about this... you can take a brand new drive out of the static back and quick format it with NT/2000/XP. There is no pre-existing format and no files to be removed. Bad MS info.

It's just bad wording, the point is still correct. A quick format creates a new blank MFT and nothing else, a full format creates a new blank MFT and then checks for badblocks on the volume.

Which is basically what I said in my first post... but YOU worded it MUCH MORE ACCURATELY than did Microsoft! (good work!)



Joe

 

[Nothinman]

Which is basically what I said in my first post... but YOU worded it MUCH MORE ACCURATELY than did Microsoft! (good work!)

Yes, but I bet the guy writing the article wasn't allowed to use terms like MFT because most people have no idea what that is.

 

[Netopia]

Good point.... better to give them wrong info they understand than the right stuff that they don't!

I bet that goes on more often than we realize.

Joe

 

[Nothinman]

Especially on MS' site...

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
Especially on MS' site...

virtual memory vs. pagefile, anyone?

 

[Bozo]

Actually, a quick format on a brand new disk writes the Master Boot Record (MBR), Partition Table, and if needed, The File Allocation Table (FAT). This is all in the very first sectors of the hard drive.

Bozo

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: keeleysam
full formatting goes over the whole drive with 0's, quck jsut overwrites the partition table.

thats correct the quick format just cuts all the links from the installed data to the MFT (as the MFT acts like a massive address book "thats how deleted stuff can still be recovered" becasue the software is still there just not write protected i.e. still having its address linked"), and checks for bad partitions .. not sure if it uses some sort of CHKDSK for that.. and the full format just overights everything with 0's each sector at a time

 

[Sureshot324]

Originally posted by: RichUK

Originally posted by: keeleysam
full formatting goes over the whole drive with 0's, quck jsut overwrites the partition table.

thats correct the quick format just cuts all the links from the installed data to the MFT (as the MFT acts like a massive address book "thats how deleted stuff can still be recovered" becasue the software is still there just not write protected i.e. still having its address linked"), and checks for bad partitions .. not sure if it uses some sort of CHKDSK for that.. and the full format just overights everything with 0's each sector at a time

A full format does NOT write 0s over the entire disk. Only a low level format does that (not possible with windows xp disk). As started above, the only difference is that the full format checks for bad sectors.

 

[Nothinman]

Actually, a quick format on a brand new disk writes the Master Boot Record (MBR), Partition Table, and if needed, The File Allocation Table (FAT). This is all in the very first sectors of the hard drive.

The partitioning before the format would do the MBR and partition table. MS may group them into one procedure, but they're still seperate tasks. And NTFS dosen't have a FAT, it has a MFT.

thats correct the quick format just cuts all the links from the installed data to the MFT (as the MFT acts like a massive address book "thats how deleted stuff can still be recovered" becasue the software is still there just not write protected i.e. still having its address linked"), and checks for bad partitions .. not sure if it uses some sort of CHKDSK for that.. and the full format just overights everything with 0's each sector at a time

It doesn't check for 'bad partitions', if you have a problem like overlapping partitions it'll bitch before you get to the format portion. And the full format doesn't overwrite the data with 0s, it just tests every blocks readability and marks bad those that give errors.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Sureshot324
A full format does NOT write 0s over the entire disk. Only a low level format does that (not possible with windows xp disk). As started above, the only difference is that the full format checks for bad sectors.

But... does a full format, in the process of checking for bad sectors, change all of the data in the disk in one way or another (essentially rendering it unrecoverable)? That is what I thought, but from the way you state it, I am now uncertain.

 

[RichUK]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Actually, a quick format on a brand new disk writes the Master Boot Record (MBR), Partition Table, and if needed, The File Allocation Table (FAT). This is all in the very first sectors of the hard drive.

The partitioning before the format would do the MBR and partition table. MS may group them into one procedure, but they're still seperate tasks. And NTFS dosen't have a FAT, it has a MFT.

thats correct the quick format just cuts all the links from the installed data to the MFT (as the MFT acts like a massive address book "thats how deleted stuff can still be recovered" becasue the software is still there just not write protected i.e. still having its address linked"), and checks for bad partitions .. not sure if it uses some sort of CHKDSK for that.. and the full format just overights everything with 0's each sector at a time

It doesn't check for 'bad partitions', if you have a problem like overlapping partitions it'll bitch before you get to the format portion. And the full format doesn't overwrite the data with 0s, it just tests every blocks readability and marks bad those that give errors.

o right cool i always thought that a full format, formats the whole drive to 0's, maybe not then lol .. i stand enlightened ..

 

[Nothinman]

But... does a full format, in the process of checking for bad sectors, change all of the data in the disk in one way or another (essentially rendering it unrecoverable)? That is what I thought, but from the way you state it, I am now uncertain.

I assume it's the same as chkdsk or scandisk's bad block test, which is non-destructive, but I've never verified this.

 

[Sureshot324]

Originally posted by: ProviaFan

Originally posted by: Sureshot324
A full format does NOT write 0s over the entire disk. Only a low level format does that (not possible with windows xp disk). As started above, the only difference is that the full format checks for bad sectors.

But... does a full format, in the process of checking for bad sectors, change all of the data in the disk in one way or another (essentially rendering it unrecoverable)? That is what I thought, but from the way you state it, I am now uncertain.

No, if you do a full format but then don't install windows or write anything to the drive, plug it into another comuter and run a data recovery utility, you will most likely be able to get all your data back.

 

[ProviaFan]

Originally posted by: Sureshot324
No, if you do a full format but then don't install windows or write anything to the drive, plug it into another comuter and run a data recovery utility, you will most likely be able to get all your data back.

Good info, thanks. You guys have cleared up a misconception of mine, and in subsequent searching I found this, for all of your secure reformatting and data destruction needs.

 

[Netopia]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

But... does a full format, in the process of checking for bad sectors, change all of the data in the disk in one way or another (essentially rendering it unrecoverable)? That is what I thought, but from the way you state it, I am now uncertain.

I assume it's the same as chkdsk or scandisk's bad block test, which is non-destructive, but I've never verified this.

MS concurs:

If you installed Windows XP on a partition that was formatted by using the Quick format option, you can also check your disk by using the chkdsk /r command after the installation of Windows XP is completed.

Joe