Originally Posted by blackberrywidow

A quick format and a regular format both do the exact same thing in a data erasure sense. The only difference is that a regular format also checks the disk for errors, whereas in a quick format this step is bypassed. Neither actually 'erase' any data in like what you would think of for a chalkboard, vacuuming, or any of that other nonsense (lol....not comparable to rolling down hills either)

Essentially what it does is tells the system/index file/whatever that all of the disk/card/stick/whatever is available for writing. The data isn't truly gone until new data is written overtop of it, and even then, can sometimes be recovered by skilled data forensics specialists (can you say child porn cases?). I can't really think of a good analogy that would fit...When you wipe you are eliminating the index or table of contents essentially. If you rip it out once, ripping it out again isn't going to change the fact that there is still a whole novel in the book...

I would say wiping more than once is pointless, but hey, i've seen stranger things.

Hope this helps some... (but probably doesnt)