Buzz
Recently, Mytour received a question from a reader signed with an inquiry:
I am installing Windows XP on my computer and a window appears on the screen asking to choose a format, Quick Format or Full Format. So, I want to ask how to differentiate Quick Format and Full Format? As far as I know, on Windows 7 and 8, Quick Format is used as the default format. Is there a difference in the two factors of risk and consistency between Quick Format and Full Format?
Answer:
The term formatting is used for various things, you need to understand the concept of formatting at different levels before differentiating between Quick and Full when formatting memory devices.
First is the low-level format (low-level format) on a hard drive. The process divides the drive into small parts - called sectors that the operating system can access. Nowadays, drives are pre-formatted at a low level, with sector sizes being 512 bytes or 4096 bytes. Ordinary users cannot format drives at a low level.
Differences between Quick and Full when formatting memory devices
Secondly, high-level formatting involves the operating system writing a file system structure onto the disk. For example, with the older FAT (File Allocation Table), the system writes a boot sector to the first sector of the disk and an empty FAT to record the following sectors. In this case, 'empty' means all entries in the File Allocation Table are marked as unused.
High-level formatting may include scanning the disk to find bad sectors and may write a value of 0 to all sectors on the disk.
When formatting a drive, Windows XP performs high-level formatting and writes the file system structure onto the disk. When you choose Full Format, Windows XP scans all sectors on the drive to find bad sectors. Since the Windows Vista operating system, Full Format also writes a value of 0 to all sectors.
Accessing each sector on the drive takes a lot of time, so Full format usually takes longer than Quick format. However, there are cases where you may want to perform Full Format.
1. If there are specific data on the hard drive that must be 'eliminated,' you should opt for Full Format. If you choose Quick Format, the data files are not completely erased and still remain on the hard drive, only the file system structure (file names and file location information stored on the hard drive) is erased.
Other users may utilize specialized programs to guess, identify file data blocks, and recover your files - because the data still exists on the hard drive.
2. You want to check the status of the drive. Full Format is the ideal choice because it accesses all sectors. If there is a bad sector, the system will detect it. With Quick Format, only some sectors are checked.
Even if you have successfully performed a quick format, there is still a possibility of existing bad sectors. Of course, you can run the command “chkdsk /r” to scan the hard drive and find any bad sectors.
Regarding risk and consistency, the risk level has been addressed in the previous sections. As for consistency, there is hardly any difference between Quick and Full when formatting memory devices. With every format, the operating system writes the file system structure, and this structure serves as the starting point for each file system access. It does not make a difference if unused sectors are removed or contain random data. Additionally, you should also refer to how to use Quick Format and Full Format to perform them most accurately.
Typically when installing Windows, users will encounter whether to format the C drive (the drive where Windows is installed) beforehand or not. If agreed, the system will immediately format your C drive, allowing your new operating system installation to have enough storage space later.
USB is a device commonly used for data storage nowadays. Before using a USB to start copying files, do you usually format your USB first, right? Formatting a USB will help release the memory inside the USB, allowing you to store more files.
If you have any questions or want to add more information, you can leave a comment below.
