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Thread ID: 34846	2003-06-25 11:39:00	part 2, format means?	beetle (243)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
155068	2003-06-25 11:39:00	just want some guidance here on what format means or where to read it. as Chills fag talks about all but xp and no i do not intend to try it at this stage, just want to understand what it does, or how it does it ? or something along those lines please be gentle for the brain, other urls to read would be good. beetle	beetle (243)
155069	2003-06-25 11:59:00	found one, but any other recomendations greatly received beetle	beetle (243)
155070	2003-06-25 12:20:00	In what context? They all have the same sort of meaning. The arrangement of data on a disk, organization of information according to a pre-defined configuration. If your talking about formatting a disk, basically it will wipe all information from the disk. A quick format is the same except instead of wiping all data it just deletes the record of where the data is kept(or address) on the disk.	rsnic (3780)
155071	2003-06-25 12:23:00	oh um as in reformat my computer ? been told may have to do it and wanted to know the ins and outs etc may help reset it as such to fix problems, but didnt know or have any idea how to do or what it really was. beetle	beetle (243)
155072	2003-06-25 12:33:00	Formatting a disk prepares it for accepting data like the operating system, programs, drivers and documents you make using applications like Works, Word, Excel, Access, Family Tree etc. You will have at least one Hard disk (Physical) in your system unit. This may (or may not) be partitioned off to include other hard drives. As I now understand it you own a computer supplied by the PC Company. They normally just give you one physical Hard drive and partitioned as the C: drive. This will be where EVERYTHING is stored and if you FORMAT the C: drive you will lose everything on that drive in the way of an operating system (extremely important), drivers (very important) all application programs (probably important) and all documents you have produced (most important unless you don't want them any more). Don't forget things you have saved like Bookmarks, Emails and their Attachments and files you have downloaded off the Internet like the latest version of DirectX and all the updates for Windows etc. When I build a computer I am inclined to put in things like a CDRW drive and a second physical hard drive in a removable tray which I can backup to (or copy) and store off site. This sort of strategy allows me to go off on holiday and be happy that if the whole place here catches fire I can get a new computer with the insurance and restore all my stuff. At the very least I would advise that your (one hard drive) is partitioned into a C: and D: drive. Use the C: drive for the O/S and programs. Use the D: drive for downloads and data you create. Backup and/or copy data only from the D: drive. If you only have the one hard disk then the Hard disk dies then you will have lost C: and D: Formatting a disk will generally lose all data on it. Yes... You can recover information off a formatted hard disk but it will cost you unless you have the software and knowledge to do it yourself. A recovery disk such as supplied with some computers will put your computer back the way you bought it. One of those will often just remove any partitions you made and put the whole deal back to the way it was shipped from the factory.	Elephant (599)
155073	2003-06-25 12:37:00	In any file format, the basic physical contents of your disk includes the actual file bits broken into clusters in order to optimise the space usage, and the set of instructions relating to which blocks comprise which files and in which order. Different File formats (eg FAT, FAT32, NTFS) mean different standards of storing this information, different choices of cluster size, and different provisions for additional file information eg, access rights, protection bits, access bits etc... To format a physical disk is to erase the information on the disk. This can be done in one of three (really only two) ways. A quick format is the fastest, because it doesnt actually delete any file data, it simply deletes the index tables recording the order of file blocks. The files are no longer available as logical sets of data, however no magnetic bit on the hard drive blocks relating to file data have been changed, so it is possible (and fairly easy) to recover the files. This is the essence of how Undelete commands work. The next method, is a standard format, which includes the above step, but also goes one step further and actually writes 0's to every bit on the hard disk (I think it's 0's, logically it could just as easily be 1's). This takes longer, but makes it much harder to recover the data - you need particular knowledge and tools to do so, and its not always 100% successful. The final method which is really an extension of the above method, is commonly called a Government wipe, or if you are American, an NSA wipe. This is the method used by data destruction applications, as it ensures it is impossible to recover any information. The disk is first formated, then is written with all 0's, then all 1's, then some arbitrary number in binary format, and this process is repeated a minimum of 3 times. The reason for the (generally exessive) effort, is that a hard disk uses magnetism to store the data, and a hard disk can hold a magnetic residue (I think this is the physical way the 'memory' is retained, Im not a physics expert though), meaning that even after data is written over, there is still the possibility that previously stored bits can be recovered. This excessive writing and re-writing ensures that any residual information left over is not that of your data. And thats about all I have to say about that. Iain	Iain Walmsley (3372)
155074	2003-06-26 07:14:00	Doing a format on your computer to try and fix all the problems you have been having simply means running a program that will WIPE all the data on the hard drive . Think of it like an audio tape that has a number of songs, etc copied onto it and has got rather messy . If you put it in the tape recorder and set it to record without having any music or sound playing you will get a nice clean blank tape . Formatting a computer is sort of similar . I would suggest a "proper" format for your computer, not a "simple" format because you want all the data wiped, not just the table of contents . Once the format has been done the hard drive is all nice and clean and ready for Windows to be reinstalled, then all your programs reinstalled and your backed up data copied back again . With those programs that you downloaded, eg Adaware, AVG, Mailwasher, etc, you can backup the installation files that you originally downloaded so that you can reinstall those programs after Windows . I remember you asking me if it was OK to delete them and I *think* you said you would hold onto them . If you did delete them it doesn't matter, just download them again . Once those programs have been reinstalled they will update themselves when you get back onto the internet . Your Windows updates will have to be re-downloaded and reinstalled after a format as well . What I did a while ago was download them manually and save them to a CD so that I did not have to re-download them all again after formats . That is something for you to learn later on though -- you have enough on your plate at the moment . It does still take quite a while to reinstall them again, unfortunately . That is where Ghost is worth its weight in gold . ;-) Yes, I know all this is a lot of work - I have recently been through it all again myself on both computers - but in your situation it is rather unavoidable no matter what option you take . Once it is all done and everything is squeaky clean again you will be glad you did it . Let's just hope that is all you need to do to put things right .	Susan B (19)
155075	2003-06-26 09:59:00	thanxs all for your imput, i had a vague idea of how it worked but this has cleared it up better. but have been searching for a web / url on this and cant seem to find a good xp one, any suggestions? beetle	beetle (243)
155076	2003-06-26 10:10:00	Basically, when you format, you lose XP.. You lose EVERYTHING! You're back to a command line.. :( If you're wanting to make a Boot-Disk in XP, you right-click on the Floppy Drive and choose Format, you then tick the box that has something to do with System Files (Im in Linux right now sorry). From there on in.. You'd best hope you printed the FAQ ;-)	Chilling_Silently (228)
155077	2003-06-26 10:16:00	er thanxs chill havent got as far as that just want a walk through page to see how complex it is and if i understand it enough to get it done... by some one or someone help me? but cant actually find full directions from start on how to delete etc/ sorta to the other end add os and such, lots on everything else but no xp, was thinking of printing one out and having as my bed time reading for a change from text books....LOL off to check more microsoft stuff beetle	beetle (243)
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