reformatting reinstalling

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by chris45, Jul 25, 2010.

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  1. chris45

    chris45 Registered Member

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    i got two questions

    isnt reformatting and reinstalling the same thing?

    if my computer is working fine is there any point in reformatting or reinstalling once in a while to clear invalid registrys and files etc?
     
  2. Cudni

    Cudni Global Moderator

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  3. chris45

    chris45 Registered Member

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    what i dont get about refomat and reinstall is it seems like the same thing. Reformat deletes everything then reinstalls but doesnt just reinstall do the same thing? because when you overwrite with reinstalling doesnt it delete the existing data
     
  4. Cudni

    Cudni Global Moderator

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    Reinstall preserves your data, documents etc, and overwrites Windows related files only
     
  5. wat0114

    wat0114 Guest

    Some people use the terms interchangeably, even though they have technically different meanings. For instance, if I decide to "reinstall" Windows, I will format the drive first.
     
  6. acuariano

    acuariano Registered Member

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    i prefer to wipe the drive or partition first,then format and finally reinstall.
     
  7. johnny_dacu

    johnny_dacu Registered Member

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    Same here. even if one time i've erased one important file and never restore it. In my opinion a format action not just only prepare the path for a clean the system but maybe healthy too, is some infected exes are there (maybe hidden)
     
  8. ramblinrick

    ramblinrick Registered Member

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    I have Windows 7 on a disc, it's not an upgrade. I want to wipe my C drive completely clean, before reinstalling W7. I have Hard Disk Manager 2010 Suite.
    My question, How do I wipe my C drive clean, when disk manager is running from my C drive. All of my files are backed up on an external drive. Thank you.
     
  9. Cudni

    Cudni Global Moderator

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  10. ramblinrick

    ramblinrick Registered Member

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    My question is, How do I wipe the C drive with hard Disk Manager running from C drive?
     
  11. Cudni

    Cudni Global Moderator

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    You don't
     
  12. ramblinrick

    ramblinrick Registered Member

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    Thank You.
     
  13. Sully

    Sully Registered Member

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    When you format (or reformat) a drive, you declare the file system.. fat, fat32, ntfs etc. Each might have its own pros and cons depending on what you are doing. So, you obviously get the chance to make your choise.

    When you install the OS, files are written, etc etc. If you do a reinstall, and do NOT format, files are written over the top of existing files. You know, windows files are replaced by those off the CD. But, your data that is created after install is normally kept because the installation process is not writing over the top of what it does not know about.

    A format also maps the bad cylinders of the drive out and marks them as bad. If you have ever reformatted a windows box, you might have noticed the option to do a "quick" format. I don't have the specifics, but it is (was) always advisable to do a non-fast format, because this way if you had a bad sector/cylinder on the drive, the file system was supposed to find it and mark it as bad and not attempt to write to it. This led to much less corrupted information. I have done a lot of full formats and a lot of quick formats.

    Many people simply prefer to format during a reinstall to make sure all prior data is washed away and the new install is "fresh". They don't care about whether the cylinders are marked as being good or not. There is nothing wrong with this really, it serves its purpose, which is to guarantee a clean install.

    The two are not the same, but can be part of the same process, depending on what you desire to achieve.

    Sul.
     
  14. chris45

    chris45 Registered Member

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    thanks everyone. i got another question when you pop in the dvd to reinstall vista you get the option of deleting the partition. Whats the difference with deleting the partition and formatting the partition? I just formatted the partition on my dads computer and it read 249.9 gb free out of 250 gb and then when i deleted the partition it and created a new one it read 250gb free of 250gb
     
  15. blacknight

    blacknight Registered Member

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    You have also my vote. :thumb:
     
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