Drive+format


 * || ** Drive format **

There are two types of formats, ‘Full’ or ‘Quick’ for creating NTFS partitions. The disadvantage of a ‘Quick’ format is that bad sectors are not identified therefore they can not be mapped out. With a ‘Quick’ format only the MFT is created for the partition and it is assumed the partition does not have any sector issues.

The advantage of performing a ‘Full’ format when a drive is being prepared for use is that if a bad sector is detected it is mapped out and a spare sector is mapped in to replace the defective sector or sectors. This remapping information is stored in the NTFS partition’s Master File Table (MFT) so there is no chance of writing a file to the defective sector. Note that all drive manufactures have an area located on the drive which contains spare sectors if they are needed.


 * Windows 7 only performs a ‘Quick’ format:**

The Windows 7 installation software however is only capable of performing a ‘Quick’ format when performing a “Custom” install.

You have the option to create partitions, however you do not have a choice of ‘Full’ or ‘Quick’, its Quick only. Therefore should the drive contain one or more bad sectors in an area utilized by Windows 7 during the install process you can expect to encounter any number of problems such as error messages, freezing and failing to complete or even crashing.

The very first part (100MB partition) of a drive is used by Windows 7 for the BCD store.


 * Create a Windows 7 System Recovery Disk:**

You may need to use the recover disk, so create it before you proceed.

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