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Windows 7 - Does Formatting a drive replaces the need to defrag it? |
02-05-2012
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#1 | | |
Does Formatting a drive replaces the need to defrag it? I've been wanting to reinstall Windows on a formatted drive for a time now. Recently a problem came up which the solution for is to defrag my drive.
Will formatting the drive remove the need to defrag it afterwards? I mean, a bunch of nothing is as orderly as it can be...
| My System Specs | | OS Win7 Pro SP1 64 CPU Intel i7 860 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 P55 Memory Transcend 2GB DDR3 133 Graphics Card ATI Radeon 5770 Sound Card M-Audio Profire 610 |
02-05-2012
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#2 | | |
No, a format does not defrag.
When you clean reinstall it will format the partition before install even if you don't do it yourself. It's just a minor preparation step, not some big erasure or Disk Check that many think.
Defragging does order the HD better and is good to do occasionally after running awhile. I use free Puran Defragger for it's boot time defrag which gets at System files. You can also have it do a Full Disk Check at the same time which checks and repairs the Files system which lives on the HD. Any more serious problems should be tested by running the HD maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan.
Adapt these steps to get a perfect clean reinstall of Windows 7: Reinstalling Windows 7
Last edited by gregrocker; 02-05-2012 at 10:10 PM..
Reason: state the obvious clearer.
| My System Specs | | |
02-05-2012
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#3 | | |
Thanks for the quick reply but I don't think you understood my answer?
Basically it was, does formatting does what defragging supposed to do + delete everything? does format>defrag? | My System Specs | | OS Win7 Pro SP1 64 CPU Intel i7 860 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 P55 Memory Transcend 2GB DDR3 133 Graphics Card ATI Radeon 5770 Sound Card M-Audio Profire 610 |
02-05-2012
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#4 | | Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Windows XP SP3, Ubuntu 10.04 |
Built-in Defragger Don't forget that Windows 7 has a built-in Defragger.
It automatically defrags your HDD (scheduled for 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM Wednesday mornings).
You can also run it manually.
That said, I use Piriform's Defraggler (before I create my monthly backup images).
IIRC:
Formatting "deletes" the directory/file allocation table (quick).
Low level formatting overwrites the blocks (slow).
If you format your HDD, you don't have to defrag it, as there is "nothing" on it.
Last edited by lehnerus2000; 02-05-2012 at 09:50 PM..
Reason: Additional
| My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number n/a OS Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Windows XP SP3, Ubuntu 10.04 CPU AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz Motherboard ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3 Memory 4 GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT Sound Card Realtek? Monitor(s) Displays Analog Silicon Graphics Screen Resolution 1600x1200 Mouse Wired Optical Case Tower Hard Drives Western Digital 1 TB (SATA), Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA) Internet Speed DSL Other Info System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11 |
02-05-2012
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#5 | | Systems 1 and 2: Windows 7 Enterprise x64, Win 8 Developer |
The purpose of defragging a drive is to organize files contiguously. When a drive has been formatted, the index is erased and allows the computer to write to each block. Therefore defragging is not needed afterward.
As an aside, I don't think Win 7 does a low level format (not sure). Gparted, for example, does allow a low level format. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Dell and Custom OS Systems 1 and 2: Windows 7 Enterprise x64, Win 8 Developer CPU System 1: i7 2600@3.4GHz, System 2: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6G Motherboard System 1:Dell 06NWYK System 2: ASUS M5A97 AM3+ Memory System 1: 8GB System 2: 8GB Graphics Card System 1: ATI FirePro V4800 System 2: Radeon HD 6850 Sound Card System 1: onboard System 2: onboard Monitor(s) Displays System1: Viewsonic HDMI 24" Screen Resolution System 1: 1920x1080 System 2: 1920x1080 Case System 1: Dell System 2: Cooler Master Hard Drives System 1: Mirrored .5B drives System 2: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s Internet Speed 10 MBPS |
02-05-2012
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#6 | | Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Windows XP SP3, Ubuntu 10.04 |
Command Prompt 
Quote: Originally Posted by Lemur As an aside, I don't think Win 7 does a low level format (not sure). Gparted, for example, does allow a low level format. I think that you need to use the " Command Prompt" to do that. | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number n/a OS Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (64 bit), Windows XP SP3, Ubuntu 10.04 CPU AMD Phenom II x6 1055T, 2.8 GHz Motherboard ASRock 880GMH-LE/USB3 Memory 4 GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT Sound Card Realtek? Monitor(s) Displays Analog Silicon Graphics Screen Resolution 1600x1200 Mouse Wired Optical Case Tower Hard Drives Western Digital 1 TB (SATA), Western Digital 1.5 TB (SATA) Internet Speed DSL Other Info System Upgraded - 2011-05-21, 2010-07-14
HDD Upgraded - 2010-08-11 |
02-05-2012
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#7 | | Systems 1 and 2: Windows 7 Enterprise x64, Win 8 Developer |
Duh. I should just follow Brink's tutorial on llf using diskpart. Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command | My System Specs | | System Manufacturer/Model Number Dell and Custom OS Systems 1 and 2: Windows 7 Enterprise x64, Win 8 Developer CPU System 1: i7 2600@3.4GHz, System 2: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6G Motherboard System 1:Dell 06NWYK System 2: ASUS M5A97 AM3+ Memory System 1: 8GB System 2: 8GB Graphics Card System 1: ATI FirePro V4800 System 2: Radeon HD 6850 Sound Card System 1: onboard System 2: onboard Monitor(s) Displays System1: Viewsonic HDMI 24" Screen Resolution System 1: 1920x1080 System 2: 1920x1080 Case System 1: Dell System 2: Cooler Master Hard Drives System 1: Mirrored .5B drives System 2: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s Internet Speed 10 MBPS |
02-05-2012
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#8 | | |
Thanks lehnerus2000, that's what I needed to know. | My System Specs | | OS Win7 Pro SP1 64 CPU Intel i7 860 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 P55 Memory Transcend 2GB DDR3 133 Graphics Card ATI Radeon 5770 Sound Card M-Audio Profire 610 Does Formatting a drive replaces the need to defrag it? problems? All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:30 AM. |  |