Hard Disk Formatting

[Polter]

Can you please tell me if there is any difference between formatting a drive on the hard disk, and deleting all the contents (including hidden files) on the drive (for example C: drive)?

 

[gagan007]

While deleting, there may be some files that remain on the hard disk, but formatting removes each and every file present there. Moreover deleted files can be recovered "easily" while recovering files on a formatted disk, needs special softwares.

 

[vijay_7287]

c the basic diff is

deletin removes the file

formattin removes the file system and puts a new one

 

[LordDJ]

Dunno how it happens these days, but in the past deleting a file in x86 meant changing the first character of the file name by DOS and thus mark that space for furtehr writing. And no you cant simply do it yourself. If you were to diskedit the disk you'd see the same. So what the undelete s/w back then did was to ask you for the first char and then, iff the file hadn't been overwritten (ie all the clusters are there) it would simply write the new char.

Formatting is a little different, it recreates the file structure (FAT). Here for safety purposes there's a second copy of the FAT. All this is under DOS (x86).

Dunno abt the rest. Any takes guys?

 

[mehulved]

I don't know too well. But, one major difference I know of is that deleting the files doesn't affect filesystem hitherto whereas formatting affects the filesystem. You and me both can learn from the following links:-
Formatting
Deleting of files

 

[LordDJ]

Man what doesn't wikipedia have? No point asking questions here!

 

[manmay]

deleting a file (even shift delete) actually edits the file link only. ie . it put this particular file's link in the free space list. now when ever new files are to be copied to the HDD the OS jus cheks the lsit of free spaces and usesthe appropriate free space.

so actually the file is not deleted but just the oS is made to know that this particular space is to be used as free space.

but while formatting the hd we r actually wiping the entire file systen of that partition along with the file allocation table(fat).

in fact this FAT keeps the records of the files present on the partition .

suppose because of some error on the hd if thsi table is disturbed then the system will start acting absurdly.

data can be easily recovered if a file is deleted becoz the file is physically still present.
but suppose if the OS overwrites some other file on this particular area of the hd. then that file cannot be recovered correctly or rather it is now lost.


i dont know how the data is recovered from the hd even after teh hdd is formated...and what is the funda behind it....

i request an already enlightened body to throw some light on this aspect....

tia

 

[shariq_pj]

Even after deletin the file, the file is physically present and is only removed from the file allocation table... What the OS does is at any point of time the file which is deleted is overwritte

 

[amitsaudy]

Recovering deleted files is possible.
But even after formatting file recovery is possible.
Until the free space is owrwritten recovering is possible.

 

[shariq_pj]

Recovering deleted files is possible.
But even after formatting file recovery is possible.
Until the free space is owrwritten recovering is possible.

Hey... Is recovery possible even after formattin...? R u sure...?

 

[theraven]

yup
for quick format
not sure abt full format
but since it doesnt overwrite anything on the disc i think it should be possible

its not possible only during a low level format

 

[avishek_dg]

As people have already written that while deletion the file's entry in the File Allocation Table is removed, but the file(or the bit pattern in the hard disk) is still physically present in the hard disk.

For storing data on the disk the disk needs to be divided into tracks and sectors. Formatting does this. So when the disk is formatted, new tracks and sectors are made and a new file system is made along with the FAT. Theoritically it is possible to recover the file from the hard disk even after formatting as the bit pattern of the file is still physically there. Only new tracks and sectors have been made on the disk. But I dont know if it is possible practically.