24th June 2002

Lockergnomie Patrick Kingsley has a heap of help for those of us who have ever faced a complete reinstallation of Windows 2000 or XP: "Regarding the difference between a Quick and Full format... the error check is only part of the overhead that occurs when you perform a Full format; the other significant portion of the overhead occurs as the block and sector structure is laid out and written to the entire disk, which does not occur when you do a Quick format. Basically, a Full format truly scrubs the disk from scratch, rebuilds all of the file structures, and checks to make sure that everything is copasetic. All a Quick format does is lay down a blank FAT and directory table. This is why a brand-new unformatted disk can't be Quick formatted and must receive a Full format; it needs all of the file structures laid out first, so the FAT actually has blocks and sectors to track, instead of a nebulous mess (though, frankly, looking at my hard drive, it's not all that different from a nebulous mess; it's just a properly formatted and allocated nebulous mess)." I suppose that if you have extra time on your hands, go for the Full option. It couldn't hurt.