Delete or Format Hard Disk - What's the difference ?

[hash]

Hello

When I select Custom (Advanced) instead of Upgrade to install Vista I then
have to choose the partition to which to install Vista. If I need to delete
or format the disk, I select the Drive options (advanced) option to do so
and then continue.

I'd like to know what is the difference between Delete or Format the entire
hard disk or just a partition (Volume) c:\ drive ?

hash

 

[Richard Urban]

Delete will delete the partition and the partition table entry for said
partition. Format leaves the previous partition table entry intact. If the
table entry is corrupted (it happens), and you just format - you will still
have the corrupted partition table entry , which will cause problems.

If the partition was created by using Partition magic 8 I would certainly
delete the partition and then create a new one using the Vista installer. I
always do this and have no problems. Of the many people who post here with
problems installing, I have to wonder how many are using the old partition,
which "may" not be compatible with the new iteration of the NTFS system.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[hash]

I've sent you an email which I hope you've received it. I've further
queries on the subject and prefer to communicate with you via email. Please
respond. Thank you.

hash

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Hash.

Richard Urban is not shy and I'm sure he will have comments of his own, but
I'd like to add mine, for you and for any newbies who might think that your
latest post is "how it's done".

I've further queries on the subject and prefer to communicate with you via
email.

YOU may "prefer to communicate...via email." But that is not how newsgroups
work! In a newsgroup, we all learn from each other. What we learn here
today, we teach others tomorrow. We just can't do that as well in email.

Netiquette frowns on email responses to newsgroup posts unless email is
specifically invited or the subject veers from the topic of the newsgroup.
In a newsgroup, thousands of readers might benefit from the question, the
answer and the general discussion. If you get bad or incomplete advice in a
newsgroup, other readers can jump in and complete or correct what you were
told. In email, nobody benefits except the two parties involved. If you
get bad advice in email, you're just stuck with it. If Richard happens to
be asleep or on vacation or suffering a computer malfunction when your email
arrives, you may get no answer at all. In a newsgroup, another reader can
step up and offer help.

MVPs - and many other newsgroup posters - offer hours of help every day with
no expectation of being paid for it. But that does not mean that we
volunteer to become the personal tech support resource for any individual
reader of the newsgroup. We volunteer our time and expertise to the
newsgroup for the benefit of all - and some of us (not me!) are truly
experts.


OK. I'll get off my soapbox now, Hash. If you'll post your further
questions here, I'm sure that Richard - and anybody else able to help - will
be glad to give you the best advice that we can.

It seems to me that Richard's first Reply was excellent.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail beta in Vista Ultimate x64)

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

I'd like to know what is the difference between Delete or Format the entire
hard disk or just a partition (Volume) c:\ drive ?

Further to what Richard Urban said; Format imposes a new, empty file
system within a volume, whereas deleting a volume removes it and
leaves the space unallocated.

IOW, Format isn't just about "deleting things", though deletion of
existing files is a side-effect of creating a new empty file system.

--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

Who is General Failure and
why is he reading my disk?

 

[hash]

So before installing Vista I get two options, delete or format c:\ drive.
If I do both will I still have a volume called c:\ drive. In what order can
I do both - delete before format or vice versa ?

hash

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Hash.

If you delete first, then you'll need to have Vista Setup create a new
partition before you can format it. Despite the popular terminology, we
don't actually format a hard disk drive. We first create a partition on
that hard drive, and then format the partition. But when we assign a letter
to the partition, we call it a "drive" letter. :>{

We might be tempted to call it a "partition" letter. But there are "primary
partitions" and "extended partitions". "Drive" letters get assigned to
primary partitions, but not to extended partitions. An extended partition
does not get assigned a letter, but each logical drive within it gets a
letter. To reduce the confusion a little, we can refer both to primary
partitions and to logical drives in extended partitions as "volumes". But
longstanding usage is hard to change, so we still often call them "drives".
And that also reinforces the confusion between volumes and physical hard
disk drives. :>(

It helps to cut down on the confusion if we assign a name (label) to each
volume. Drive letters exist only within each operating system, and
dual-boot users often complain that Drive C: in WinXP is Drive D: in Vista -
or vice versa. But a volume labeled "VistaX64" keeps the same name until we
change it, no matter which OS is running and no matter whether it is Drive
C: or Drive X;.

So, you can either format the existing Drive C:, or delete it, create a new
volume, assign it Drive C:, and format it. You should wind up with the same
result either way.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail beta in Vista Ultimate x64)

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

So before installing Vista I get two options, delete or format c:\ drive.
If I do both will I still have a volume called c:\ drive. In what order can
I do both - delete before format or vice versa ?

What is C: at the moment?

If you delete "C:", then you won't have a partition to format, so the
next thing would be to create one, and then format it.

"Partitioning" refers to the allocation of physical hard drive space
to particular partitions and (in the case of MS OSs) logical volumes
within these. This is like putting up walls to create separate rooms
inside a house. "Formatting" is the process of creating a file system
within one of these volumes, and is more like laying down the
floorboards within a room you've created in the house.

Modern tools tend to do both processes at the same time, which makes
things seem a bit blurry to those who didn't grow up with the old DOS
era Fdisk vs. Format dichotomy.

--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -

Who is General Failure and
why is he reading my disk?