HD Format

I read this on the member news page:

had to reformat my HDD cuz of a registry error that couldn't be resolved.

so now i lost everything :sad: (posted by wckd)

Use GetDataBack for FAT or NFTS before you install anything else ! I was able to recover all of my maps/configs when after my format.

Just don't install any other programs, so your old files aren't written over by something else. You formatted your HD, but formatting means it only deletes the references to the files, not the files themselves. By using a recovery program like this, you can get your files back in no-time. (took like 30 minutes on my 40 gb HD, and it found everything I needed.

Just saying this, because it would be stupid to give up your files when they're under your own nose.

site: http://www.runtime.org/

oh well he'll get other it. :wink:

It's nice to know that my files aren't lost if I someday would format my HD... :smile:

People format their HD way too often. Does one burn the whole house down just because a sink is broken? Formatting seems to be the No. 1 solution to any computer problem. It's a bit excessive people...

I haven't format my HD for over a year!!! :biggrin:

2 years, running safe and solid.

My secret ?

• Daily online virusscan
• Ad-Aware
• Cleaning registry after uninstalling software
• Handle those attachments with care
• Block those nasty ActiveX-thingies.
• www.agnitum.com/outpost

:biggrin:

I won't deny that a complete format after 6 months nets me a leaner, faster, and all-around more stable machine. Plus, it gets rid of all those useless files I installed over the past months and forgot about, as well as files that aren't really uninstalled completely and leave a lot of "shared libraries" around, AND I finally am forced to remove those games I don't play any more but leave installed "just in case".

In short, I don't format to fix one problem with my computer. I format to fix ALL of them at once.

I haven't ever formatted, very rarely defrag/scandisk, and almost never adaware/virus check, and have thus far managed to get through 10 years of safe and happy computer use :smile:

Surely the files take up space on the HD though, so Forceflow if defragging only gets rid of the shortcut so to say, then how do you keep infinite amounts of info on HD's? I could reformat a full HD a hundred times and refill it, and it would still work...

ive got 2 drives... 1 20gb for OS and some games, and an 80gb for storage. not only that, but i backup a lot of my registry onto my 80gb before formatting via .reg files. when the time comes to format, i just format the 20gb!

Hornpipe2 said:
I won't deny that a complete format after 6 months nets me a leaner, faster, and all-around more stable machine. Plus, it gets rid of all those useless files I installed over the past months and forgot about, as well as files that aren't really uninstalled completely and leave a lot of "shared libraries" around, AND I finally am forced to remove those games I don't play any more but leave installed "just in case".

In short, I don't format to fix one problem with my computer. I format to fix ALL of them at once.

Pretty much how I live. Of course when I format, I format...meaning low level rewrite of everything. I want that shiz -gone-.

How convenient that you posted this though, because I formatted today and (surprise!) forgot My Documents. Thanks for the tip.

Leperous said:
I haven't ever formatted, very rarely defrag/scandisk, and almost never adaware/virus check, and have thus far managed to get through 10 years of safe and happy computer use :smile:

I've got three words for you:

"The Lep Factor"

Myrk- said:
Surely the files take up space on the HD though, so Forceflow if defragging only gets rid of the shortcut so to say, then how do you keep infinite amounts of info on HD's? I could reformat a full HD a hundred times and refill it, and it would still work...

valid enough. But that's not exactly what happens. From my limited knowledge, everytime you reformat it is only the filesystem entries which are removed ( which incidentally explains why formats are quite fast ) The actual data continues to stay on the disk until it is overwritten. From then on, it is overwritten as and when necessary. It doesn't really make sense to "delete" data. I mean, can you actually remove HD sectors? And why spend valuable time on clearing all the deleted areas, when just filesystem clears are sufficient? A lower level format might clear data, but it doesn't help in any way, and doesn't even increase speeds.

Hornpipe2 said:
How convenient that you posted this though, because I formatted today and (surprise!) forgot My Documents. Thanks for the tip.

Hihi. :biggrin:

How do you do a low-level rewrite thingy?