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I'm going to reinstall Windows XP on a used machine soon. The data on the hard drive is heavily fragmented at the moment.
I'm going to format the drive when reinstalling Windows so is there any sense in defragmenting the drive now?
Siim K
Posted 2011-02-14T09:35:24.463
Reputation: 6 776
And also, choose "full format" when installing windows... – Janfy – 2011-02-14T11:56:14.483
Can you provide a reason to do so? – oKtosiTe – 2011-02-14T11:56:14.513
2Only reason to do that is checking physical disk for errors. Old files do not matter, even with quick format. Disk won't be more fragmented with quick format. – Olli – 2011-02-14T11:56:14.530
also when you do a quick format, you're not really formatting the whole disk, just creating the structure of the new disc. All of the data on the disc is primarily left alone and if you're worried about security, a 12 yr old w/ some available tools can get at your data. – g19fanatic – 2011-02-14T12:19:52.357
@g19fanatic: I'm not sure that's the case. According to Microsoft (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302686) the only difference between Full and Quick format is that "If you choose the Quick format option, format removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad sectors"
– Siim K – 2011-02-14T13:37:05.230@Siim K: A quick format only erases the MFT, which "removes files from the partition." Think about this: If it really erased all the files, how long do you think it would take to quick format a 1TB HD, compared to how long it actually takes? If you want to check the disk for errors, use the HD vendor's tools to do that. – afrazier – 2011-02-14T13:54:30.387
@Siim K: Microsoft isn't going into the details on how the files are removed. When you move files to the 'Recycling Bin' and then 'permenantly delete' them, it doesn't actually fully delete the file. It just removes the file from the MFT. The file is still actually on the HD... That is exactly what a quick format does, erase the MFT and creates a new one saying (the disk has no files on it). The data is still there. A full format (from what I understand), on top of doing a disk check, will overwrite every sector, thus actually erasing the data (though still not securely if you're paranoid...) – g19fanatic – 2011-02-14T14:33:57.767
Yes, the data might still be there, but it's not going to result in fragmentation. It only matters if you're going to sell your computer, in which case you should use something like DBAN anyway. – Billy ONeal – 2011-02-14T14:45:02.010
Thw way full format checks for bad sectors is to write a standard pattern into each sector and then to read it back again to see if it's correct. This has the side effect of actually erasing the old contents of that sector. That is why a full format is more secure than a quick format. – Walter Mitty – 2012-08-24T09:49:10.370