Format new HDD - quick or full ?

another question on this issue....where/how do you run chkdsk /f after formating....?...do I run from within windows at the run command ?

Is this different from checking both options on the Check Disk Options in windows under Properties/Tools ?

Thanks....

Check your HD.

Disk Check

xarden said:

I was under the impression a quick format will wipe the partitioning table, and create a new one.
A full format will wipe the partitioning table, write zeros across the entire disk, then recreate the partion table.
So, when I need to recommission an old disk, I'd do a full format.
A brand new disk, sealed from the shop/factory would already be zero'd, so only needs a quick format.

A full format also scans for bad sectors, which is something you probably want to do for a new disk. You don't want to start laying data down if you have any bad sectors.

Zeroing out is relatively new (vista) for added security.

whs said:

GeneO said:

chckdsk /f does not scan for bad sectors. chkdsk /r does. /f does file level consistency checks, not sector level. That is why it is much faster.

If you do a quick format followed by a chkdsk /f, as suggested, the chkdsk does basically nothing since there are no files after the quick format.

Maybe the moderators won't delete this reply from me in this thread since I didn't say anything about MS.

You are right in so far as on a disk with a lot of data, the /R option is the better one because it attempts to recover the readable data. However, on an empty disk, the /F option is sufficient since it disables the bad sectors.

I believe you are wrong, sorry. On an empty disk /f does nothing as it does checking at the file/MFT level, which on an empty disk there is none.

/R on an empty disk does a lot - it checks every sector and repairs bad sectors - exactly like a full format does. how much is on a disk doesn't matter so much with /r - its purpose is a sector scan, but /r does include /f.

Yes, and indicates your mistake in your previous post. /f does not scan for bad sectors.