Formatting a computer hard disk is a very important procedure, thanks to which the user gets the opportunity to write various information to it.
Formatting the hard drive
Formatting a disk is a very important process. People who first encounter this concept may be surprised that upon its completion, absolutely all information stored on the hard drive will be deleted. Formatting can be done both on a hard disk and on various removable media. The formatting process is very similar to defragmentation. The only difference between them is that disk defragmentation can take a very long time, and the result will be the same. By formatting the disk, so-called fragmentation is eliminated. It is thanks to this procedure that the user can easily delete all the information stored on the hard disk, and at the same time change its file system.
Formatting steps
The formatting process itself can consist of several stages. First of all, low-level disk formatting occurs. At this stage, the data storage area is marked (the volume that is occupied by the information stored on the medium). During this procedure, special sectors are created in which, if necessary, control program information is recorded.
The second stage involves dividing the hard drive into partitions. For example, each user has a "hard drive C:" on his computer (the name of the hard drive may be different, depending on the user's preferences). The very stage of partitioning the hard disk into partitions is not at all necessary. If you do not split the entire hard disk into separate parts, only one hard disk will be created.
The last step is high-level formatting. It is this type of formatting that is carried out on a computer, when it is necessary to format the hard disk immediately from the operating system. During this procedure, the future file system of the hard disk is selected: FAT32 or NTFS. FAT32 is ideal if small files will be stored on the hard drive. NTFS is best for the opposite case (of course, the ability to store and use small files remains). High-level formatting can be different: complete and fast. Naturally, full formatting will take a little longer, but it is in this case that the bad sectors will be corrected and then the table of a particular file system will be written. In the case of quick formatting, only the last step is performed.
