Whats the difference between normal format and zero-filling erase, please

[Rafael Mestdag]

I'm currently erasing the data from my 1TB HDD because Windows wouldnt let me format it so I'd like to know if there is a difference between the two methods.

Thanks in advance.

 

[imperialxgx]

Quick format deletes data on the surface
Full format goes through every sector and deletes files
A zero fill deletes all data by overwriting it with zeros

Why is this better?

Because When the HDD writes a file to the disk, it just finds the next available "free sector", and overwrites whatever is there (regardless of whether or not it is a 0 or a 1). Zero fill does this after deleting your files effectively overwriting every possible recoverable piece of data.

 

[Rafael Mestdag]

Quick format deletes data on the surface
Full format goes through every sector and deletes files
A zero fill deletes all data by overwriting it with zeros

Why is this better?

Because When the HDD writes a file to the disk, it just finds the next available "free sector", and overwrites whatever is there (regardless of whether or not it is a 0 or a 1). Zero fill does this after deleting your files effectively overwriting every possible recoverable piece of data.

So zero-filling is better basically because it prevents data recovery? Or is there something else I'm not getting?

Thanks in advance.

 

[imperialxgx]

Sorry for the late reply. and yes, that's exactly it. Its good for if you have personal or financial data stored on it. Some people do it if they are under investigation for downloading illegally(I dont want to know) lol