does formatting a hard drive erase data
Rating Newest Oldest. Best Answer: In the simplest terms, formating a drive will erase all of the data on the drive. A quick format will simply erase the part of the drive that shows where all of the files are located on the drive.The data is still on the rest of the drive though.One can use programs such as R-Studio that recognize different file systems and can detect files and directory structures on the disk. This means that you, or others, can still recover the data.he data is still on the rest of the drive though. One can use programs such as R-Studio that recognize different file systems and can detect files and directory structures on the disk. This means that you, or others, can still recover the data.