WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:06.000 There's nothing like starting off with a clean slate. Whether it's a new car 00:00:03.760 --> 00:00:10.559 right off the lot, fresh sheets in your hotel room bed, or a pardon from the 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:14.719 state governor for your 14th speeding ticket. But your driving record isn't 00:00:12.559 --> 00:00:19.119 the only thing that could use a fresh scrubbing. Reformatting the storage 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:23.840 drive in your computer or mobile device could make your life easier as well. But 00:00:21.439 --> 00:00:27.119 what exactly is formatting? Well, just like a database is kind of useless 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:31.359 unless it has some sort of system for organizing all of your data, a disc 00:00:29.279 --> 00:00:35.040 isn't very useful unless it has a file system where it can tell your computer 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:40.239 where everything is physically located on the drive. When you format your hard 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:44.480 drive, SSD, USB stick, or whatever else, the disc is first partitioned, meaning 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:48.960 that the disc is given a beginning and an end to mark the areas where the 00:00:46.559 --> 00:00:53.680 operating system can access it. Then a file system is placed onto the disc to 00:00:51.440 --> 00:00:59.120 allow it to organize its contents. Usually NTFS for Windows drive or FAT32 00:00:56.480 --> 00:01:03.120 or XFAT for a removable flash drive. But formatting does more than just prepare a 00:01:01.199 --> 00:01:06.960 disc for use. If there was anything on the disc before formatting, it gets 00:01:05.360 --> 00:01:11.280 erased during the formatting process. Because formatting involves erasing the 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:14.560 tables that give locations to all of the files on the disc, meaning your 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:18.640 operating system will see all the previous data as free space that can be 00:01:16.960 --> 00:01:21.920 overwritten. And although this is obviously a problem for people who want 00:01:20.240 --> 00:01:25.840 to reformat a disc because it isn't working properly, but would also like to 00:01:24.080 --> 00:01:29.759 keep the data, it also means that reformatting is a great way to 00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:33.680 completely nuke a drive really quickly. Often times, this is done when a 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:37.920 computer is infected by particularly determined malware, which is difficult 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:42.320 to remove with anti-malware applications and can leave lasting damage to crucial 00:01:40.720 --> 00:01:46.479 operating system files, even if you do manage to get rid of it. By formatting 00:01:44.320 --> 00:01:51.360 an infected drive, you nullify its ability to execute any malicious code. 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:55.200 And since formatting erases the boot sector that tells your PC to load up 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:59.360 your operating system, it's also a great way to defeat the more exotic viruses 00:01:57.119 --> 00:02:03.600 that infect the boot sector directly, which can give you a truckload of 00:02:01.520 --> 00:02:08.000 problems. Formatting is also a good way to remove pre-installed software from a 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:12.640 computer you bought off the shelf. often referred to as bloatware since it tends 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:17.120 to hog up system resources and often provide questionable at best utility. 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:22.000 Bloatware can be difficult to remove completely. So many people who purchase 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:25.680 pre-built PCs, especially laptops, like to format the included drive right out 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:29.120 of the box and do a clean operating system install. And if you're suffering 00:02:27.040 --> 00:02:33.120 from Windows bloating, where Windows just kind of piles up background 00:02:30.959 --> 00:02:38.319 processes and registry errors over time, formatting can serve a useful method for 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:41.680 spring cleaning. Do keep in mind however that formatting does have some 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:46.800 limitations. Doing it to permanently erase data beyond recovery is just a bad 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:50.239 idea as formatting doesn't obliterate this data. It just marks it as free 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:54.160 space and it can be overwritten later on and can still be recovered by using 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:58.800 third-party software. There's a bunch of them out there. So using an overwrite 00:02:55.920 --> 00:03:02.959 utility such as DBAN or Derek's boot is just a much better idea. Formatting also 00:03:01.519 --> 00:03:07.280 won't help you if the problem you're having lies within your PC somewhere 00:03:05.040 --> 00:03:11.840 else, such as in the case of a super corrupted BIOS or a terrible virus that 00:03:09.920 --> 00:03:16.640 gets into your freaking firmware. And while fir formatting can give you a 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:21.760 clean slate to work off of, it doesn't make your drive like new. Though a full 00:03:19.519 --> 00:03:25.360 format in Windows can check your drive for bad sectors to at least tell you 00:03:23.760 --> 00:03:29.360 whether or not you might need a whole new disc drive to solve your problems. 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:33.040 But formatting, like we said earlier, remains a very valuable tool if you're 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:37.360 drowning in malware or bloatware or whatever. 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