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Difference between format and format /q

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Nostradamus

Nostradamus

Technical User
May 3, 2000
419
SE
What is really the difference between these two ways of deleting a disc. What makes the /q option so much faster.
A friend of mine told me that /q doesn´t make a "real" format, but just wipes the info of the disc (deltree, kind of)

If a want to make a new install, is there some reason I shouldn´t run format with the /q option?

Can anyone sort this out for me.



Nostradamus


 
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quick just get rid of the FAT table, which is the same as saying the files were never there, thus allowing programs to write over the disk as if it were blank, since the FAT keeps track of all the files starts and ends, a full format actually goes over each area and resets them to zero or free bytes.

thats in my way of understanding it.
Karl
kb244@kb244.com
Experienced in : C++(both VC++ and Borland),VB1(dos) thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, HTML, Visual InterDev 6(ASP(WebProgramming/Vbscript)

 
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Clean out the directory sectors and relink the FAT.

Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
 
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Power Quest Lost and Found would laugh at an attempt to hide disk contents with a quick format. In most cases, you could over-write the files with zero-byte strings, delete them, quick-format the drive, delete the partitions and still be able to recover the data. None of those actions have much of an effect on the bulk of the drive's contents.

Just my 256 bits....

VCA.gif

​
 
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The starting points and the links are blown but the data remains. And anything that does a sector read without worrying about the OS requirements will have no problem seeing the data.

And that is the reason that the secure delete from Norton Utilities does a triple overwrite. And so you could do a quick format twice and the data could still be recovered in the original format.

Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 
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if I ever need to format, I would always use a full length format, or a low-level format, the only time I'll really use a quick format, is on floppies, and other quick portible medias, because not only is content left behind on a quickformat, it may have problems with some OS, and wouldnt be as clean, with portible medias like floppies, and etc, are usally overwritten very easily and dont carry an OS on them.
Karl
kb244@kb244.com
Experienced in : C++(both VC++ and Borland),VB1(dos) thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, HTML, Visual InterDev 6(ASP(WebProgramming/Vbscript)

 
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A "full" format (format c:) and a low-level format are two completely different things. Low-level removes EVERYTHING from the disk, including partition tables. We don't generally use low-level format with EIDE and SCSI drives.
 
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um, Thats what I meant, and I alsmost always use LowLevel formats with my EIDE drives (you mentioned both EIDE and SCSI, they are about the only drives in existance other than Firewire, and other non-common drives)

I use a LowLevel when I Want to wipe the entire Physical drive, I use a full when I want to wipe a partition clean(while keeping the file structure).
Karl
kb244@kb244.com
Experienced in : C++(both VC++ and Borland),VB1(dos) thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, HTML, Visual InterDev 6(ASP(WebProgramming/Vbscript)

 
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What do you use to low-level the disk? And, you'd be amazed at how many RLL, MFM and ESDI disks are still out there...
 
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Department of Defense requires the hard drive to be over writen with the binary 7 in every bit on every location for the entire drive, and that it be done 7 times before they will sell, throw away, or otherwise let a hard drive out of their hands. This is what Norton's wipedisk does (or did awhile back)

Format /q clears out the File table making the drive appear empty (but the data is still there) A full format re-writes the tracks and wips out the data so that a casualy recovery attempt (undelete, etc) would not be able to find any usable data.

My 2 cents
Alacrity
 
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Norton Wipe, and other utilities (like Steganos Security Suiete II) do still goverment wipe (or least leave it as an option, Basically what it is, was a two pass zero bytes, 2 pass 1 byte, and a final two pass zero bytes. you can actually customize your wipe type depending on the software. the purpose for the multiple write overs, is to ensure that no magnetic residue is left or have been missed.

and as for the RLL MFM ESDI, I know how many still exist, but out on the current commecial market, you dont see that many being sold to many End user, more likely companies who didnt want to upgrade their mainframes.
Karl
kb244@kb244.com
Experienced in : C++(both VC++ and Borland),VB1(dos) thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, HTML, Visual InterDev 6(ASP(WebProgramming/Vbscript)

 
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hehehe, thanks for the replies, all of you. I couldn´t get any better/more info regarding these commands.



Nostradamus


 
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So many answers for such a seemingly small question. My 2c.
/Q - Provides a quick way to format a disk . This option erases the file allocation table and the root directory, but does not identify bad sectors.
nick.gif
 
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um, thats ALL it does, is remove FAT and root, it doesnt even touch the files, or anything, I Dont think even a full format checks for bad sectors, but of course I'm sure if there is a bad sector a full format will know when attempting to write over it.
Karl
kb244@kb244.com
Experienced in : C++(both VC++ and Borland),VB1(dos) thru VB6, Delphi 3 pro, HTML, Visual InterDev 6(ASP(WebProgramming/Vbscript)

 
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Yes Karl, full format does minimal test for bad sectors. When you are done you are notified of available space and bad space. But it not a real comprehensive test. When you get ahold of bad media your floppy will sound like a threshing machine.

Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 
Upvote 0 Downvote
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