Reformatting your PC a lot of times.

WaXT · Sep 2, 2010, 11:18 AM

Is it true that when you reformat your PC allot of times, it could be a reason for PC damage?
Let's say I reformat my PC for 1x/2 months. Could it damage my PC?

arroyo · Sep 2, 2010, 11:23 AM

No. It's totally safe. It's normal I/O operation on HDD.

WaXT · Sep 2, 2010, 11:23 AM

Are you sure even on low systems?

Because I hate it when people use my "reformatting every 2 months" as a reasonfor my pc to break.

caleb · Sep 2, 2010, 11:28 AM

It's a machine. HDD spins and move's its heads, electricity flows,fans blow etc
It doesn't care if its reinstalling OS or playing blob volley.

WaXT · Sep 2, 2010, 11:31 AM

Thanks. I knew it all along. Just making sure.

Thrackan · Sep 2, 2010, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaXT

Are you sure even on low systems?

Because I hate it when people use my "reformatting every 2 months" as a reasonfor my pc to break.

Stop associating with those people. Immediately.

WaXT · Sep 2, 2010, 11:49 AM

I know. And some shops say that it could be a reason. LOL
and those shops happen to have those beast hardwares.

shevanel · Sep 2, 2010, 11:53 AM

I've blown gpu's from refreshing UPS tracking too many times / hour.

Thrackan · Sep 2, 2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaXT

I know. And some shops say that it could be a reason. LOL
and those shops happen to have those beast hardwares.

Hmm, I have serious doubts about buying hardware from a shop which I don't trust to be able to actually use it. Or worse, troubleshoot it when it fails. But that's just my €0,02

shevanel · Sep 2, 2010, 12:04 PM

My local pc shop is stuck on S775. Whenever I go in there for something I can hear all the guys in the back watching youtube videos containing i7's and the sound of ham being used to drive nails is usually what sends me out running.

I once went in there with 2x2gb of DRR3 and asked if he would take it in trade for a 1GB stick of 667 or 2x512 (I was in a bind and other pc shops in the past always traded with me) and he told me he wasn't sure what the DDR3 should be used with... I uh'd

WaXT · Sep 2, 2010, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shevanel

my local pc shop is stuck on s775. Whenever i go in there for something i can hear all the guys in the back watching youtube videos containing i7's and the sound of ham being used to drive nails is usually what sends me out running.

I once went in there with 2x2gb of drr3 and asked if he would take it in trade for a 1gb stick of 667 or 2x512 (i was in a bind and other pc shops in the past always traded with me) and he told me he wasn't sure what the ddr3 should be used with... I uh'd

lmfao

a_ump · Sep 2, 2010, 12:39 PM

one thing you gotta learn....is to learn about computers yourself before trusting what shops say. Some are good but take even Geeksquad. Sent them a computer my friends mom sent in b4 i cld touch it, got it back with them saying the mobo was dead. I took out on 8800Ultra(was in SLI) and put the bottom on in the top PCI-E slot and walla...computer works.

So in reality you can only trust TPU and your own knowledge

de.das.dude · Sep 2, 2010, 12:45 PM

those are really wise words indeed!

TIGR · Sep 2, 2010, 12:53 PM

The only component in terms of "wear and tear" by formatting is the hard drive.

The most substantial study of HDD failures I know of, Google's Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population shows that yes, HDD utilization does impact the life of hard drives (read under Utilization starting on page 4 of the study)—the impact is not as simple as you might think, so read for more info.

I can think of very few circumstances under which I'd recommend performing a full format (not a "quick format") every two months.

de.das.dude · Sep 2, 2010, 01:36 PM

i have known that a HDD can be safely "fully" formatted a limited no of times. after that the magnetic sectors are known to get &^&*&#$-fied.

CJCerny · Sep 2, 2010, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by de.das.dude

i have known that a HDD can be safely "fully" formatted a limited no of times. after that the magnetic sectors are known to get &^&*&#$-fied.

Completely untrue. Formatting a hard drive doesn't utilize it any differently than normal use. Formatting a drive repeatedly will not shorten its lifespan.

caleb · Sep 2, 2010, 01:56 PM

I think what you mean is a low level format. This is not the case with our common "formats"

Thrackan · Sep 2, 2010, 02:01 PM

Even a low-level format is simply a rearrangement of the magnetic tracks. Yes, there is a limited number of times, but I doubt you can reach that limit while constantly formatting for the rest of your life.

CJCerny · Sep 2, 2010, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thrackan

Even a low-level format is simply a rearrangement of the magnetic tracks. Yes, there is a limited number of times, but I doubt you can reach that limit while constantly formatting for the rest of your life.

Again, completely untrue. There's no such thing as a "low level" format anymore. That hasn't existed since MFM hard drives. When people speak of a low level format nowadays, they are simply referring to the process of writing zeros or "zero filling" the entire drive, which isn't any more strenous on a drive than anything else.

Thrackan · Sep 2, 2010, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJCerny

Again, completely untrue. There's no such thing as a "low level" format anymore. That hasn't existed since MFM hard drives. When people speak of a low level format nowadays, they are simply referring to the process of writing zeros or "zero filling" the entire drive, which isn't any more strenous on a drive than anything else.

There is nothing untrue about my statement. The magnetic tracks are being rearranged, just like any writing operations.

TIGR · Sep 2, 2010, 02:33 PM

LLF (low level formatting) is still done—but at the factory. Utilities exist allowing end users to perform low level formats as well, though it is sometimes not possible to do so outside of the factory.

Perseid · Sep 2, 2010, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WaXT

Are you sure even on low systems?

Because I hate it when people use my "reformatting every 2 months" as a reasonfor my pc to break.

I'll just throw this out there as a reason why people might say that: Full formatting also does error checking, so formatting often might show the existence of problems that you otherwise might not see for a while, so it might LOOK like the formatting is causing the error.

Really, though, you might want to ask yourself why you're formatting every 2 months. I haven't reformatted this machine for almost 4 years.

AsRock · Sep 2, 2010, 03:30 PM

More likely to get OS issue's before hardware issue due to it. You only have so many activations for a OS then ya have to phone them lol.

W1zzard · Sep 2, 2010, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AsRock

You only have so many activations for a OS then ya have to phone them lol.

so call them. you paid for it, you are entitled to your reinstalls, its their job to make it work for you

TIGR · Sep 2, 2010, 03:58 PM

^^ It only takes a few minutes and I wouldn't call it an OS "issue."

Sep 2, 2010, 11:18 AM	#1
WaXT Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Makati, PH Posts: 215 (0.21/day) Thanks: 81 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	Reformatting your PC a lot of times. Is it true that when you reformat your PC allot of times, it could be a reason for PC damage? Let's say I reformat my PC for 1x/2 months. Could it damage my PC? __________________ ......................................I eat cereals at night

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Sep 2, 2010, 11:23 AM	#2
arroyo Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bydgoszcz, Poland Posts: 383 (0.22/day) Thanks: 19 Thanked 88 Times in 69 Posts System Specs	No. It's totally safe. It's normal I/O operation on HDD. __________________ AMD 1055T @ 3600MHz cooled by Thermalright 120 Xtreme (lapped) / Asrock 880G@890GX / A-Data + 1600 DDR3 / Seasonic M12D 850W / Asus HD6950 unlocked / 2 button ball mouse / Benchmark: 2.3 promile of alcohol in my blood and still standing

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Sep 2, 2010, 11:23 AM	#3
WaXT Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Makati, PH Posts: 215 (0.21/day) Thanks: 81 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	Are you sure even on low systems? Because I hate it when people use my "reformatting every 2 months" as a reasonfor my pc to break. __________________ ......................................I eat cereals at night

Sep 2, 2010, 11:28 AM	#4
caleb Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Poland,Slask Posts: 1,119 (0.35/day) Thanks: 204 Thanked 176 Times in 144 Posts System Specs	It's a machine. HDD spins and move's its heads, electricity flows,fans blow etc It doesn't care if its reinstalling OS or playing blob volley.

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Sep 2, 2010, 11:31 AM	#5
WaXT Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Makati, PH Posts: 215 (0.21/day) Thanks: 81 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	Thanks. I knew it all along. Just making sure. __________________ ......................................I eat cereals at night

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Sep 2, 2010, 11:49 AM	#7
WaXT Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Makati, PH Posts: 215 (0.21/day) Thanks: 81 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	I know. And some shops say that it could be a reason. LOL and those shops happen to have those beast hardwares. __________________ ......................................I eat cereals at night

Sep 2, 2010, 11:53 AM	#8
shevanel Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Leesburg, FL Posts: 3,151 (2.21/day) Thanks: 1,515 Thanked 410 Times in 338 Posts System Specs	I've blown gpu's from refreshing UPS tracking too many times / hour. __________________ Stop comparing it to onboard! Compare it to something it falls short to so that we can really understand. HEAT

Sep 2, 2010, 12:04 PM	#10
shevanel Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Leesburg, FL Posts: 3,151 (2.21/day) Thanks: 1,515 Thanked 410 Times in 338 Posts System Specs	My local pc shop is stuck on S775. Whenever I go in there for something I can hear all the guys in the back watching youtube videos containing i7's and the sound of ham being used to drive nails is usually what sends me out running. I once went in there with 2x2gb of DRR3 and asked if he would take it in trade for a 1GB stick of 667 or 2x512 (I was in a bind and other pc shops in the past always traded with me) and he told me he wasn't sure what the DDR3 should be used with... I uh'd __________________ Stop comparing it to onboard! Compare it to something it falls short to so that we can really understand. HEAT

Sep 2, 2010, 12:39 PM	#12
a_ump Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Fairmont, WV Posts: 3,108 (1.53/day) Thanks: 464 Thanked 321 Times in 297 Posts System Specs	one thing you gotta learn....is to learn about computers yourself before trusting what shops say. Some are good but take even Geeksquad. Sent them a computer my friends mom sent in b4 i cld touch it, got it back with them saying the mobo was dead. I took out on 8800Ultra(was in SLI) and put the bottom on in the top PCI-E slot and walla...computer works. So in reality you can only trust TPU and your own knowledge __________________ My Heatware

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Sep 2, 2010, 12:45 PM	#13
de.das.dude Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wild Wild East Posts: 4,850 (4.40/day) Thanks: 2,441 Thanked 1,415 Times in 976 Posts System Specs	those are really wise words indeed! __________________ Join the TPU GRID 2 ClUB T0D4Y!

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Sep 2, 2010, 12:53 PM	#14
TIGR Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 2,098 (1.19/day) Thanks: 739 Thanked 1,032 Times in 598 Posts System Specs	The only component in terms of "wear and tear" by formatting is the hard drive. The most substantial study of HDD failures I know of, Google's Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population shows that yes, HDD utilization does impact the life of hard drives (read under Utilization starting on page 4 of the study)—the impact is not as simple as you might think, so read for more info. I can think of very few circumstances under which I'd recommend performing a full format (not a "quick format") every two months.

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Sep 2, 2010, 01:36 PM	#15
de.das.dude Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Wild Wild East Posts: 4,850 (4.40/day) Thanks: 2,441 Thanked 1,415 Times in 976 Posts System Specs	i have known that a HDD can be safely "fully" formatted a limited no of times. after that the magnetic sectors are known to get &^&*&#$-fied. __________________ Join the TPU GRID 2 ClUB T0D4Y!

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Sep 2, 2010, 01:56 PM	#17
caleb Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Poland,Slask Posts: 1,119 (0.35/day) Thanks: 204 Thanked 176 Times in 144 Posts System Specs	I think what you mean is a low level format. This is not the case with our common "formats" __________________ "Let me noobilize you"

Sep 2, 2010, 02:01 PM	#18
Thrackan Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 3,159 (1.84/day) Thanks: 235 Thanked 652 Times in 533 Posts System Specs	Even a low-level format is simply a rearrangement of the magnetic tracks. Yes, there is a limited number of times, but I doubt you can reach that limit while constantly formatting for the rest of your life. __________________ Play League of Legends! Join the Ghetto modders club Put your Steam games on multiple partitions

Sep 2, 2010, 02:33 PM	#21
TIGR Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 2,098 (1.19/day) Thanks: 739 Thanked 1,032 Times in 598 Posts System Specs	LLF (low level formatting) is still done—but at the factory. Utilities exist allowing end users to perform low level formats as well, though it is sometimes not possible to do so outside of the factory.

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Sep 2, 2010, 03:30 PM	#23
AsRock TPU addict Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: US\ Uk Born Posts: 8,909 (4.07/day) Thanks: 1,728 Thanked 1,381 Times in 1,199 Posts System Specs	More likely to get OS issue's before hardware issue due to it. You only have so many activations for a OS then ya have to phone them lol.

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Sep 2, 2010, 03:58 PM	#25
TIGR Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Minnesota, USA Posts: 2,098 (1.19/day) Thanks: 739 Thanked 1,032 Times in 598 Posts System Specs	^^ It only takes a few minutes and I wouldn't call it an OS "issue."

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