"Check Disk" similar to full format?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter Rossiter
  • Start date Start date
P

Peter Rossiter

In the properties for a partition there is a tool tab with a
feature for "error checking".

One check box says "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors".

If this box is checked then does that perform a check of the
partition sectors which is similar to the check performed by a full
format?

If that is so then is the above checkbox on the "error checking"
option doing the same thing as "CHKDSK /R" ?
 
NO! Format erases the files and tests the sectors. Chkdsk justs checks the
sectors and tries to "save" file info if the sectors fails the tests.
 
Yves said:
NO! Format erases the files and tests the sectors. Chkdsk justs checks the
sectors and tries to "save" file info if the sectors fails the tests.
Click to expand...

Format does NOT erase files. It only does what it's suppossed to ie
format.
 
actually a full format will erase files or portions of files if they are in certain spots on the drive relative to sector locations due to the pointers placed on a drive to be refernced in regards to the fat table

true a format merly re-writes the fat/fat32/ntfs table, but only on a quick format. a full format does affect some small amounts of data on the hard drive surface
 
Yves Leclerc said:
NO! Format erases the files and tests the sectors. Chkdsk
justs checks the sectors and tries to "save" file info if the
sectors fails the tests.
Click to expand...


I am not really bothered about the different functions of FORMAT
and CHKDSK because I wil be starting with a new partition.

I want to check the new partition. If i don't select a full format
then can I later use CHKDSK to do what the full format would have
done?
 
-----Original Message-----





I am not really bothered about the different functions of FORMAT
and CHKDSK because I wil be starting with a new partition.

I want to check the new partition. If i don't select a full format
then can I later use CHKDSK to do what the full format would have
done?
.
Click to expand...

It's people like you who give humans a bad name. The
initial response answered your question, which had to do
with the comparative functionality of chkdsk and full
formatting. You then responded that you don't care about
that. Of course, nowhere in any of this have you stated
whether or not your "new" partition already has data in
it.
Take a deep breath and concentrate real hard and perhaps
you'll reach a level of comprehension that will preclude
further posting of idiotic questions: If you full-format,
the utility will check for bad sectors and mark them as
unuseable. If, on the other hand, you choose to do a
chkdsk, the utility will identify bad sectors and attempt
to rescue any data therein.
 
Peter said:
I am not really bothered about the different functions of FORMAT
and CHKDSK because I wil be starting with a new partition.

I want to check the new partition. If i don't select a full format
then can I later use CHKDSK to do what the full format would have
done?
Click to expand...

chkdsk does NOT format partitions!!! Can't you understand this?
chkdsk (if it's set to check for surface errors) moves data it finds in bad
sectors to other parts of the HD and marks the bad sectors as "bad and
unusable"
chkdsk also corrects any file-system errors it finds (if the "/f" switch is
used).
But, chkdsk DOES NOT FORMAT PARTITIONS!

--
Donald L McDaniel
Post all replies to the Newsgroup,
so that all may be informed.
Remove the obvious to reply by email.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Donald McDaniel said:
chkdsk does NOT format partitions!!! Can't you understand
this?
Click to expand...

Of course CHKDSK does not format partitions. It checks a disk.
And a full format seems to check a disk more than a quick format.

So I am asking if the checks are similar. (See my posting for what
parts of the checks I am asking about.)
 
Peter said:
Of course CHKDSK does not format partitions. It checks a disk.
And a full format seems to check a disk more than a quick format.

So I am asking if the checks are similar. (See my posting for what
parts of the checks I am asking about.)
Click to expand...

Format only checks for bad sectors as an afterthought. If it finds them, it
adds their addresses to its table of bad sectors and formats around them.
Format does not correct bad sectors.

As far as I know, the difference between a full format and a quick format is
not in the method of checking the physical media, but in how the MFT is
written. I'm pretty sure a quick format only recreates the MFT, while a
full format recreates the MFT and creates sector boundaries on the HD. It
also might write zeroes in the sectors. I'm not sure. If it finds bad
sectors during this process of writing sector boundaries, format adds the
suspect sectors to the MFT's table of bad sectors and makes a notation in
the MFT that those particular sectors are unwriteable.

A full format is always to be desired over a quick format, since it does do
a (cursory) check of the physical media, while a quick format makes no check
of the physical media at all.

If I've made a fool of myself, perhaps someone more knowledgable than I can
correct me.

--
Donald L McDaniel
Post all replies to the Newsgroup,
so that all may be informed.
Remove the obvious to reply by email.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
I am not really bothered about the different functions of FORMAT
and CHKDSK because I wil be starting with a new partition.

I want to check the new partition. If i don't select a full format
then can I later use CHKDSK to do what the full format would have
done?
Click to expand...

I like to check a drive for faults before formatting. Old habit. If the
diagnostics show that the drive is flakey (has hardware problems),
proceeding with a format and install will produce flakey results.
 
Sharon said:
I like to check a drive for faults before formatting. Old habit. If
the diagnostics show that the drive is flakey (has hardware problems),
proceeding with a format and install will produce flakey results.
Click to expand...

That's probably the best thing you can do to insure that your volumes are
always healthy.
 
Back
Top