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**TheShadowFl** · 05-23-2008, 10:36 AM

Typically.....a quick format only erases the directory and puts the space that was used, back in the file allocation table as free space. For the time being, until the drive is written to, all the old data is still there and can be recovered by the right software.

A FULL format, re-writes every track and sector, overwriting all the old data, effectively erasing it. The tracks are re-written, re-aligning them with the heads, assuring a much more reliable drive.

I just did a FULL DOS format on two 160 gig SATA2 drives. The process took about 8 hours per drive. I'm fully assured that the drives are now ready for anything I want to do with them.

Cheers mate!
The Shadow

05-23-2008, 10:36 AM	#3 (permalink)
TheShadowFl TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Central Florida Posts: 290 OS: XP-SP3, Vista Ult. 64, Win-7/64	Re: Formatting HDD Question Typically.....a quick format only erases the directory and puts the space that was used, back in the file allocation table as free space. For the time being, until the drive is written to, all the old data is still there and can be recovered by the right software. A FULL format, re-writes every track and sector, overwriting all the old data, effectively erasing it. The tracks are re-written, re-aligning them with the heads, assuring a much more reliable drive. I just did a FULL DOS format on two 160 gig SATA2 drives. The process took about 8 hours per drive. I'm fully assured that the drives are now ready for anything I want to do with them. Cheers mate! The Shadow __________________ A person with experience is never at the mercy of a person with an argument.