Have heard of the command unformat...how does this work?Can all the files be recovered 100%?If when formatted or deleted files still remain on the hard disk how do i get rid of them?Please help....& give clearly informative answers.
2006-09-05 21:42:56 · 11 answers · asked by KC 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
Just think as a hard disk as being a book. You have an index to find which part of the book that you want. This is normally called the FAT or file allocation table. Formatting an hard disk wipes the file allocation whilst keeping the files intact across the hard disk. So its like ripping the index page from the book, whilst you can find the pages there is no guide to thier location.
To completely wipe a hard drive you need a piece of software which completed destroys the files, directories on the hard disk. personally I use Darik's Boot & Nuke, which can be found on the net. Commerical packages are available, just have a search on a big retailers site. They will normally give some jargon about US government levels of security, so try and get the highest level.
Another way to prevent you data being restored is to smash the drive with a hammer. This is not normally practical unless you really want to have some fun and have to purchase a new drive.
2006-09-05 21:57:26 · answer #1 · answered by wehatetottenham 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nothing. The files still remain, but the directory to them is lost.
KC, you been surfin porn at work again?
Even if you overwrite the files they can be recovered by a knowledgeable technician examining the surrounding area on the drive.
If you want to permanently erase files you have to overwrite the area of the file at least three times or more to change the differential exponent. There are utilities, some free, (or at least free to try) that can do this automatically for you. Look here http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?tg=dl-20&qt=file%20erase&tag=srch. (BCWipe is very good and is free to use for a while, and it can permanently erase files in the future for you as you use your computer) Good Luck!
And Wehatetottenham, you really like that "whilst" word, dontcha! And magnets equally change all sectors of a drive so the differential remains the same and can be recovered, and drives that are smashed, sawed, burned or otherwise physically destroyed have in many cases been reconstructed and recovered.
2006-09-05 21:44:56 · answer #2 · answered by ferdinand 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When a disk is formatted, all it does is erase the index table, which is a list of all the files. The files and all their data are still on the disk. Restore programs can search through the disk and read the files and rebuilds the index. Assuming that the files haven't been overwritten, they can usually be recovered.
2006-09-05 21:45:09 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you mean that u want to completely be sure that your deleted files are completely deleted and can never be recovered by any means,,, then you have to delete them not by the order delete,, but by specific programs which not only delete the name of the file as the normal order (delete) but also they write on the area the file lies in,, so that the file itself no longer exist,, an example of that is ( Chaos shredder ),,here is a link to it
http://www.mywebmemo.com/download/?CHAOS_Shredder_2.4,7303.html
2006-09-05 21:59:50 · answer #4 · answered by hard_cane0 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The files on hard drive, remain there but the link to those file are deleted when formated....
I think Norton GoBack can help recover lost files.....
2006-09-05 21:46:24 · answer #5 · answered by just curious 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The files are unallocated... which means that the hard disk have the same pattern of bits .. but it's ready to be written on ... and the os doesn't know about these files ... but you can recover them .. there are programs for that ..
2006-09-05 22:12:39 · answer #6 · answered by Luay14 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lo último que compre fue un hard disk externo, siempre han sido de calidad los productos que he comprado en los sitios web pero esta compra ha pasado mis expectativos, un transporte muy rápido y un producto excelente de buena marca a un precio sin igual, seguramente la mejor compra.
2014-12-13 11:45:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
evangelionDude
Level 2
how bad could it be?
just hide the hard drive in case cops come in your house
4 minutes ago .I thought about what you said but I have seen cops use infra-red cameras and they found the hard drive and that person is doing a 30 year streach
2006-09-05 21:55:01 · answer #8 · answered by Paul G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
search online man....... you can get software which would write all zeros to your hardrive which mean permanently delete all the files on it i just cant remember what software......or you could put it on a giant magnet that would also do the trick
2006-09-05 21:55:34 · answer #9 · answered by T_DOGG_1121 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how bad could it be?
just hide the hard drive in case cops come in your house
2006-09-05 21:45:38 · answer #10 · answered by evangelionDude 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋