On Friday 23 Dec 2005 18:21, Bill Crompton wrote: > hi all, > so even if i frequently reinstall Mandrivalinux on my hdd (and thus > allow formatting of / and /usr) wont be unhealthy for my hdd? > i usually want a fresh start after 2 months as i mess up things by my > R&D. my vendors says formatting has an bad effect since it involves > physical cleanup and complex magnetic operations.frequent formatting > is bad atleast under windows,he doesnt know about linux. > bill > Haven't you asked this already, Bill? Or was that on the Expert list?
Anyway, the answer is the same. High-level formatting, which is what happens when you install, does no harm at all. It's low-level formatting that is potentially harmful, and you don't do that with any of the OS tools, either in linux or windows. Usually a low-level format is done only with a tool supplied by the maker of the drive. You can install and format all you like - it will definitely not harm your drive. Anne -- Mandriva Community Wiki - http://twiki.mdklinuxfaq.org/ Registered Linux User No.293302 - http://counter.li.org/
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