Question about formatting

[Thelillypad123]

Quick question:

 

is formatting a hard drive enough to completely erase any potential issues from drivers or software in a previous windows install? Aka is it good enough for a “clean os install? 

[kirashi]

55 minutes ago, Thelillypad123 said:

Quick question:

 

is formatting a hard drive enough to completely erase any potential issues from drivers or software in a previous windows install? Aka is it good enough for a “clean os install? 

A proper quick format is fine if you know the drive is good, but you just want to start over fresh. A full (aka slow) format is better if you suspect the drive may have failing sectors, as this might allow the drive to reallocate them. (Although failing drives should just be replaced.) And a sledgehammer is the best option if you're giving the drive away.

[LogicalDrm]

For OS installs format within installer is fine. For securely removing your data, nope.