Disk formatting

The formatting (from Latin forma, " form, shape " ) refers to IT in the field of data storing all those processes by which a storage medium for recording of data is prepared.

One distinguishes several stages:

• Low -level formatting - the physical layout of a storage medium into tracks and sectors by the controller.
• Partitioning - the physical and logical organization of the storage medium in contiguous structures.
• High -level formatting - the logical division of the partition structure with a file system by a software (usually by the operating system ).

Except where is the physical division of the medium as a standard by the nature, industrial standards or by special use, a separate low-level formatting is not required. In these cases, both processes can be performed simultaneously, for example, floppy disks, CD -ROM, CD -RW or DVD-ROM/RW.

• 2.1 Normal and Quick Format

Low -level formatting

In the low-level formatting the hard drive is physically divided into tracks and sectors. Low-level formatting is now almost always performed by the manufacturer. The assumptions used therein - for example for the different sector numbers in the zone bit recording - the user remain unknown, so that he should not perform any low-level formatting itself. Normally, each hard disk has been some bad sectors which are hidden by the manufacturer before delivery. It stores in the so-called P- list certain sectors that should not use the hard drive.

Tools and utilities to low-level formatting

Most manufacturers provide operating system-related utilities that include, among other work on the control of a disk formatting. None of these programs makes a real low-level format, but also offers the option under that name on, a Zero -Fill perform, thereby to remap bad sectors.

Most programs only work with discs of the manufacturer. The Linux distribution Desinfec't (formerly Knoppicillin ) of the computer magazine c't offers a wide range of such programs collected and bootable (DVD) at.

High -level formatting

The term "high- level formatting " comes from the jargon of the IT industry. In the colloquial language is shortened and generalizing only the generic term " formatting " is used for this. Formatting prepares a file system (for example, ext4, FAT32, or NTFS) on the disk.

The High -level formatting is based on the partitions created in the framework of the low-level formatting. This second logical formatting is controlled by the operating system. On Microsoft Windows and DOS, a high-level formatting can be initialized, for example, with the FORMAT command. Under Unix-like systems, you start such a formatting using mkfs. * (" Makefile system" ) where the * should be replaced with the desired file system, such as ext2 or ext3. Under this scheme, the specifications for the file system and cluster sizes are adjusted by parameters.

Normal and quick format

There are two different methods, the high-level disk formatting: The Quick and the normal formatting. They differ in the following points:

• Normal formatting - Performed on a disk standard formatting, it is first a scan for bad sectors performed regardless of the file system. This takes up most of the time. Then the writing of the file system metadata and thus the deletion of existing files is.
• Quick Format - If a volume is also formatted independently of the file system with the Quick method, although the files are removed from the table of contents of the disk or the partition in question, the search for bad sectors, but it omits.

Depending on the configuration and function of the operating system you are using can be formatted as a whole as a partition with a file system, a physical disk. Since, in contrast to the low-level formatting takes place only a logical division here, a disk can also be previously divided into multiple partitions, and these are set up with different file systems.

On a high -level format the old data is not available on the new file system because they are no longer referenced by corresponding references in the file system. However, they are not necessarily deleted. Mostly, they remain purely physically on the hard drive until it is overwritten with new data. As long as the data blocks used are not described again, with appropriate software, an extensive restoration still possible, but made ​​heavier than if the files were just deleted. Not infrequently, therefore, only the individual files but not the folder structure will be restored via software.

Some operating systems such as Windows Vista or Windows 7, perform during normal formatting through a mid -level format in which the data is physically overwritten with a 0. According to a 2008 scientific study presented a simple overwriting the hard disk is already sufficient to erase data permanently. So even specialized data recovery company with equipment generally impossible to reconstruct the data.