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Windows XP Question

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by hylo

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Exactly what does happen when you use the Quick Format option under Windows XP. The technicians at my work say when you are putting in a new drive it doesn't matter whether you use this option or you choose the standard formatting. Is that correct.

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by ann777

If you are using a brand new hdd, then it does not matter -- use quick format.

If you are re-using a previously used drive, then you should not use quick format unless you do not care if the drive is not fully cleared.

A quick format initializes the master boot record and formats it, it initializes the FTA, and the Root Directory.

If you took a drive with a quick format to a data recovery specialist, they could potentially recover data from a previous complete format (in other words, they can potentially recover data that is not yours).

By the same token, you'd have to use specialized software (those that write 0s or 1s on the whole drive), to entirely erase a drive's contents ; and unless you write 0s or 1s several times across a drive, my understanding is that still a specialist may be able to recover data off of the drive. In other words, even a complete format (standard format) is not totally secure.

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