Data Storage - How do I erase data from a flash drive?

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Author How do I erase data from a flash drive?
mknapp

2006-03-19, 11:47 am

I purchased a Sandisk 1mg and my husband tried to backup too much data
and now I need to erase it and start over. How do I do it?

Globe Treader

2006-03-19, 11:47 am

is it viewable in the explorer (assuming windows)? then you can right
click on it and choose format.

hope that works

mknapp

2006-03-21, 2:55 am

Thankyou. That worked perfectly.

Roy Coorne

2006-03-31, 12:15 am

Globe Treader schrieb:
> is it viewable in the explorer (assuming windows)? then you can right
> click on it and choose format.


Then the flash drive is formatted, but the data are not erased;-)

Roy
Globe Treader

2006-04-01, 12:31 pm

Roy:[vbcol=seagreen]
do you mean that the files are still visible and there in explorer? or
you mean you can recover the files from flash drive even though they
are not visible in explorer?

AFIK, windows format by default does not completely erase the
filesystem, it just writes fresh boot record, FATs and bad sector list.
*data* is still there dangling on the disk. Using data recovery tools,
files can be recovered in most cases.

is this what you were trying to put across Roy?

Kiran

Roy Coorne

2006-04-01, 12:31 pm

Globe Treader schrieb:
> Roy:
> do you mean that the files are still visible and there in explorer?


No.

> or
> you mean you can recover the files from flash drive even though they
> are not visible in explorer?


Yes.

> AFIK, windows format by default does not completely erase the
> filesystem, it just writes fresh boot record, FATs and bad sector list.
> *data* is still there dangling on the disk. Using data recovery tools,
> files can be recovered in most cases.
>
> is this what you were trying to put across Roy?


Exactly, Kiran! THX for clarifying.


Roy
Maxim S. Shatskih

2006-04-09, 7:01 pm

> AFIK, windows format by default does not completely erase the
> filesystem, it just writes fresh boot record, FATs and bad sector list.
> *data* is still there dangling on the disk.


Correct. This is what Quick Format does in Windows. Full Format will also send
the VERIFY command to all disk sectors, but this is a non-destructive operation
too.

--
Maxim Shatskih, Windows DDK MVP
StorageCraft Corporation
maxim@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com

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