XP boot disk format vs PC restore formats?

Tim

I have noticed something. When I am formatting a hard drive using an XP boot disk for a full format, it takes a lot longer than when a computer with the same size hard drive is being reformatted using the PC Restore function that comes on new computers for the past several years.

I haven't timed it with a stopwatch or anything, but I'd say the PC Restore formats take about 10% to 25% of the time of an XP boot disk format job.

Why is this? Does the PC Restore just do a real half-assed format, just wiping file names and leaving the viruses on the disk, or has it found a better faster way, or is the XP boot disk format much more thorough?

I also have found a program called Active Killdisk that does really good formats and it takes a while too but it is the free version. The paid version has many more options for the formats it can do.

primesuspect

I love ActiveState Killdisk. I highly recommend it, and used to use it all the time on customer computers.

kryyst

The difference is the restore disk is just re-imaging the disk. The Windows disk is formatting it and actually installing the software so it's figuring out drivers etc...etc...etc....

So in the restore disk it's just a straight data copy no calculations really. The other is doing actual work.

Kwitko

I approve of that answer. ^5 kryyst.

Tim

Well, for the restore disk / hard drive recovery partition, during its process, it claims to be formatting the hard drive, but it is over with so fast that there's no way it could be a properly done format. The restore disk isn't actually taking the time to erase anything? Just writing new stuff over what may or may not have been there before?

kryyst

Every restore disk is different so I can't say for sure. But most that I've seen don't format the drive as do bit level over write of the drive. At most it's doing a quick format.