Should I format my HDD using Quick Format or not?

[gregg]

Hi,

I need to get my HDD reformatted with the help of a paid technician.

Couple of weeks ago he used the quick format method & asked him if that would make any difference & he said really not.

I have the doubts though. I kind of wonder why would Windows then give a choice if there really wasn’t any difference ?

I need some expert opinions on this.

Can somebody explain the pros & Cons please?

Thanks
Greg

 

[Rob423]

yea i second that... plus it's deff quicker! hence "quick format"

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
Lian-Li PC-60
LiteOn 52X/LiteOn 811s DVD-RW
AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
Hitachi CML174
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200

 

[blah]

When you do drive format withing Windows (right click, format), did you notice how quickly that thing does it? Guess why?

..this is very useful and helpful place for information...

 

[Rob423]

It doesn't allow you to over-write OS i think..and You can only do it that way if the new drive is the Second Drive, "NON booted"... if it's not then you need to make a bootup floopy with the startup files and stuff.

partition magic is better i think

Asus A7N8X Deluxe
80gb Maxtor
200gb WD 8mb cache..
Lian-Li PC-60
LiteOn 52X/LiteOn 811s DVD-RW
AMD XP2800+
LeadTek GF4Ti4200 128mb
Hitachi CML174
1GB Corsair XMS PC3200<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by rob423 on 10/08/05 12:17 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[gregg]

All answers are very helpful & raised few more questions so please help further.

It is a DELL Dimension System with P4 2.6 GHz, 512 DDR RAM, 80 GB & 40 GB HDD ( Not SATA though). It came with Win XP (Home). ( I know I shouldn’t have bought that D (&%@#$) thing but I am not a techi so I didn’t have much choice.

My tech did a quick format using a second hard drive that has Win XP (Pro) on it.

Now I am facing with many problems including not being able to install some new programs, some acting weird and extremely slow system. I really would like to start over but

(1) I am not able to separate two drives. I have to keep them as master & slave. If I try to separate them & make each master then they wouldn’t boot & I keep getting the error “ntldr” not found.

I really freeze up when I have to deal with DOS & this kind of stuff because I never learned DOS commands. Can somebody walk me through this?

(2) I want a fresh start & I would like to keep one HD in & put the XP ( Pro) CD in & format the disk & let the CD do the rest. Can somebody please walk me through this step by step?

(3) I previously had Norton Antivirus & now he installed NOD 32. So if it is quick format then would there be any traces of Norton that would cause problems? My start up time is now 5 times longer and system has slowed down like it is a P-1 system although it is P4 2.6 GHz HT & 512 DDR RAM. I do not have that problem if I boot it using the second disk which also has XP & it is a new disk with newly installed XP.

If I run “msconfig” then there is “NvCpl” in start up. Someone suggested clearing everything from start up but I am scared that might cause more problems. Any ideas?

The whole thing is driving me nuts for last one week.

I can use all the help so please please please………

Thank You Much

 

[Ned_Flanders]

A quick format is just clearning the file index. The files are still there but Windows doesn't know it anymore.

Both types of format don't delete the files.
Difference is that full format checks the drive for bad sectors.

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[gregg]

Ned,

I had Win XP ( Home ) installed on a Hard Disk that came with my DELL system.

What would wipe that disk totally clean so that I can install Win XP ( Pro ).

Thanks
Greg

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Either. If your sure the drive is healthy, use quick format.

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[pscowboy]

Here's the best way to wipe the drive.

Using a bootable floppy with debug on it, type the following commands AFTER you have invoked debug at the "A" prompt, and you see the minus sign cursor:
Pay attention to my spaces; and what looks like zeros are indeed the number zero! There are NO letter O's.

f 200 L200 0 (hit Enter after the end of each of these lines)
a 100
mov ax,301
mov bx,200
mov cx,1
mov dx,0080 (it's 0080 if you're working on the first drive or only drive attached)
int 13
int 3
(hit Enter an extra time here)
g=100
q

This program erases ALL partition records, rendering any data on the drive inaccessable.

The q brings you back to "A" prompt. Remove the floppy; put your XP in the CD and reboot. Your clean installation will go great. The XP install program will partition and format the drive for you.

 

[pscowboy]

The MaxBlast utility will take much longer than debug's one minute of commands and it won't erase the Master and Secondary partition boot records. Debug is the quick way to go. You would want XP to format your drive with NTFS anyway, so why go through MaxBlast?

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by pscowboy on 10/10/05 11:56 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[riser]

Gateway has a program called "GWScan" - It will actually write 0s to your hard drive, wiping everything. It takes some time to run though because of what it's doing. Awesome program as it also checks the disks for errors and other potential problems.


Oh yeah, and before you come back complaining about losing everything and being stuck, make a backup.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by riser on 10/10/05 01:35 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[riser]

And what is your need to move from XP Home to XP Pro?
The argument goes on over Home and Pro, but unless you're going to be on a company network, Pro doesn't really give you anything useful.
People will say the security, but if you're not on a network with a bunch of other people, the security doesn't matter.

Put your XP CD, boot to it, due the Quick format. Be done with it.

 

[BruceMyers48]

I have an old IBM Floppy that will write Zeros to any drive. I have been using it for years. I started using it when I got stuck with a 98 bootup disk and NTFS on the drive. I boot to the floppy and it starts automatically.I have never had a problem withany drive using this. After I write Zeros I reboot with the xp disk and partition and format.I use the long winded format. Bruce

Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?