What happens when you format a device?

Answer 1

By formatting the disk is only prepared to receive new information which could, but need not, overwrite the old data.

All the existing information stays on disk . The only information deleted is that which tells the operating system where the data is stored.

Only disk wiping (overwriting all data on disk) will remove old data

Answer 2

The harddisk (aka hardrive) being reformated refers to the process of reinstalling the operating system. This is basically a process of taking your computer, and installing it like it was the first day you got it, with nothing on it, no software, plugins. It is completely cleaned.

Formatting a disk will erase anything in it and installs information that tells the computer Operating System how to locate everything on the disk. This is true for floppy disks, hard drives, CD's and DVD's, however each is slightly different in how it prepares these.

Formatting a flash drive or usb drive is the same thing as any other hard drive or disk. Formatting by definition is a brand new disk or usb flash drive that has not been formatted by the manufacture. This is just getting the disk ready to receive information and setting it up for your computers operating system to read the information. Re- formatting is when a disk or usb flash drive has been already formatted-but you are either needing a clean disk or a format that the operating system you are using can read.

Re-formatting is probably what you are referring to and this will erase everything "including Viruses", and prepares the disk for a clean install or new information. With any formatting the computer is checking for bad sectors and fixing or moving them so that the disk is ope-ratable. So basically any formatting on any recordable disk is basically cleaning and removing old information, and getting it ready for new information.

Answer 3

Formatting is the act of creating a file system on a volume, for the Operating System to be able to save and load data.

Reformatting will 'delete' all data on the device, but in many cases, you can recover your data using software, such as Piriform's Recuva.

Answer 4

All the data which is currently present on the disk will be erased.