Myth #1 :

Formatting a hard disk drive will kill it!

Truth :

To put it shortly, formatting your hard disk drive will NOT reduce its lifespan. Yes, formatting is popularly thought to reduce hard disk drive's lifespan but that is nothing more than a myth.

Formatting is NOT a stressful event for a hard disk drive. The read/write heads do NOT touch the platter surface, so damage to the platter only occurs if there is any shock to the drive during operation.

You can format your hard disk drive 20 times a day, 365 days a year and it will be no more likely to fail than a hard disk drive that is not formatted at all.

Myth #2 :

Formatting a hard disk drive causes a layer of <insert material / dust of choice> to be deposited on the platter surface, creating bad sectors.

Truth :

Formatting will not deposit any layer of "anything" on the platter. The read/write heads are not in contact with the platters, so it is physically impossible for them to deposit anything on the platter surface.

In addition, the hard disk drive is a sealed environment assembled under clean room conditions, so there is very little dust inside the hard disk drive. Even if there is dust, why would formatting deposit anything on the platter? The platters are constantly spinning - any dust would not be able to deposit itself on the platter, much less create bad sectors or an alien colony.

Myth #3 :

Formatting the hard disk drive will stress the needle (head actuator).

Truth :

Formatting is done contiguously. This means formatting is done in a serial order - sector 500, sector 501, sector 502, etc. There is very little movement of the head actuators. Therefore, formatting will NOT stress the head actuators, which is why you don't see jokes about psychiatrists prescribing Prozac to head actuators.

Myth #4 :

Defragmenting the hard disk drive will stress the needle (head actuator).

Truth :

This myth has some truth in it, albeit misplaced. Defragmenting the hard disk drive may involve a lot of seeking as the hard disk drive rearranges its data in a contiguous fashion. This allows the read/write heads to read large amounts of data without seeking all over the platters.

However, after defragmentation, the hard disk drive no longer needs to seek all over the platters for your data. This reduces the amount of head actuator movements as well as greatly increase the hard disk drive's performance.

Therefore, while it may be technically correct to say that defragmenting your hard disk drive will stress the head actuators, the truth is defragmenting your hard disk drive will reduce the amount of seeking from then on and thus reduce the head actuators' workload.

Myth #5 :

If your hard disk drive has bad sectors, formatting it will cause more bad sectors to appear!

Truth :

If your hard disk drive has bad sectors from recurrent head crashes, then the number of bad sectors is GUARANTEED to increase as time goes by. It doesn't matter if you are formatting it or just using it.

There is some truth in this myth though. You will probably notice more bad sectors after formatting. However, the reasons is because when you format your hard disk drive, the format utility checks for bad sectors. Hence, the appearance of new bad sectors after a format. They were already there, the reformatting just reveals them.

So, formatting will not increase the number of bad sectors in a failing hard disk drive. It just reveals the new bad sectors.

Page

Hard Disk Drive Myths

1.

• Introduction
• Questions & Comments

2.

• Formatting a hard disk drive will kill it!
• Formatting a hard disk drive deposits a layer of dust on the platter.
• Formatting the hard disk drive will stress the head actuator.
• Defragmenting the hard disk drive will stress the head actuator.
• If your drive has bad sectors, formatting it causes more bad sectors!

3.

• Downloading too much *stuff* will reduce your hard disk drive's lifespan.
• Insufficient power causes bad sectors.
• Cheap power supplies will "slowly kill" your hard disk drive.
• Your drive keeps spinning up and down because of insufficient power.
• Head parking is the cause of loud clicks.

4.

• The head actuators' motor can fail due to excessive use.
• Frequent parking of the heads will make the head actuators' motor fail earlier.
• The hard disk drive only spins up when it needs to read or write data.
• It is better to spin down the hard disk drive to reduce stress on the motor.
• Sudden power cuts can cause bad sectors!

5.

• Bad sectors can be repaired by reformatting the hard disk drive.
• You can "erase" bad sectors by formatting the hard disk drive.
• You must format your hard disk drive to improve performance.
• The hard disk drive can only be installed in the horizontal position.
• You must reformat the drive in the vertical position before using it in that position.

6.

• Scanning for viruses several times a day can kill your hard disk drive.
• "Excessive" head movements are bad for high-speed hard disk drives.
• The small holes on the hard disk drive allow dust to enter and damage it.
• It's okay to drop a hard disk drive as long as it is not running.
• Hard disk drive companies cheat in the way they calculate storage space!

7.

• If your hard disk drive dies, freeze it to retrieve its data.
• Hard disk drives run better / last longer below ambient temperatures.
• You will lose 64 KB of capacity every time you format the hard disk drive.
• The platters lose their magnetic propeties after being formatted xxxx times.
• The more you write or modify data, the deeper you burn into the substrate.

8.

• Quick NTFS formatting causes bad sectors to appear.
• Constantly rebooting the computer will damage the hard disk drive.
• Formatting the hard disk drive causes changes in the surface of the platters.