What is the Difference Between High-Level and Low-Level Formatting?
High-level formatting is the process of writing the file system structures on the disk that lets the disk be used for storing programs and data. For example, if DOS is used, the DOS FORMAT command performs this work by writing structures such as the master boot record (MBR) and file allocation tables (FAT) to the disk. High-level formatting is done after the hard disk has been partitioned, even if only one partition is to be used. Low-level formatting is the process of outlining the positions of the tracks and sectors on the hard disk, and writing the control structures that define where the tracks and sectors are. This is often called a “true” formatting operation, because it really creates the physical format that defines where the data is stored on the disk. The first time that a low-level format (LLF) is performed on a hard disk, the disk’s platters start out empty. That is the last time the platters will be empty for the life of the drive. If an LLF is done on a disk with data on
