When formatting a drive, Windows offers the option to "Perform a quick format". An explanation of what that is, however, is not offered. Quick formats take a few seconds, whereas a normal format procedure can take several hours.
The reason for this behavior is explained on Microsoft's website:
"When you choose to run a regular format on a volume, files are removed from the volume that you are formatting and the hard disk is scanned for bad sectors. The scan for bad sectors is responsible for the majority of the time that it takes to format a volume.
If you choose the Quick format option, format removes files from the partition, but does not scan the disk for bad sectors. Only use this option if your hard disk has been previously formatted and you are sure that your hard disk is not damaged."
Difference between a "normal" and a "quick" format. When formatting a drive, Windows offers the option to "Perform a quick format". An explanation of what that is, however, is not offered. Quick formats take a few seconds, whereas a normal format procedure can take several hours.
If you're using Windows, you can choose between NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT. NTFS file format: If you want to format your primary drive (with your OS), you must use NTFS (New Technology Files System), the default and modern Windows file system.
So, after a quick format, the data becomes inaccessible for a user, but remains on the drive and can be recovered with the help of a special data restore program. When you run a full format, the files are completely eliminated and the drive itself is additionally scanned for bad sectors.
Whether you're formatting an internal drive, external drive, USB flash drive, or SD card, Windows gives you the choice of using three different file systems: NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT.
Introduction: My name is Aron Pacocha, I am a happy, tasty, innocent, proud, talented, courageous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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