Came across an interesting article that explains the difference between a quick format versus full format of hard disk drive. The actual mechanism involving disk formatting is a lot much more complicated but I guess the general description of it is quite good in this article. Even though you may need to be bother or be concern with what quick or full format is nevertheless there is no harm to have a general idea of what formatting hard disk drive is all about. So check out this article on myth of HDD quick format versus full format.

Some people think that formatting is only applicable to HDD. In actual fact all form of computer data storage devices such as SD card, Memory Stick, rewritable DVD and etc requires some form of format operation of least once before it can be used to store information. For instance, all digital camera types has the option to format the external memory such as the SD card or the memory stick (for e.g. Sony Memory Stick).

In between, do also take note that most HDD (hard disk drive) has limited life span of up to 5 years maximum. Depending on how often you use it, you should always make it a point to back up all your data at least once a week.

Depending on how often you used it and the environmental condition such as the temperature, humidity and etc, your hard disk could break down due to accelerated wear and tear. So better be safe than sorry. Always ensure you have back up copies of your important data.