Does formatting actually clear the hard disk? Can any hardware engineer retrieve files after formatting?
2006-07-08 09:16:10 · 3 answers · asked by CURIOUS 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Security
No matter how many times you format...the traces will remain as long as the hard disk is alive. Any harware nerd can retrieve any file, which ofcourse will take time...but eventually he/she can lay their hands upon almost anything.
2006-07-12 01:07:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, traces remain. Regular formatting does not eradicate any files on your hard drive. Only the reference to the file is removed. If you do a low level format which switches EVERY bit on the drive to a 1 or 0, that's about as best you can do sort of a pick ax, flamethrower, and HUGE magnet ;-) Never throw out an old HD without physically destroying it.
2006-07-08 09:22:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Plain formatting does not clean out everything. You need to overwrite the entire disk with meaningless junk using a program designed for that purpose. It can take over an hour to wipe a 40G drive so be patient.
2006-07-08 09:22:45 · answer #3 · answered by smgray99 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋