How Long Should Formatting Take?

TyHigh

New Member
I have a 500GB TrekStor external hard drive that is connected via USB 2.0. It's been used for over 5 years with no problems. I bought a new 3TB WD and have transferred all the contents from the TrekStor to the WD.
I would like to have as fresh a start with the TrekStor as possible as it has not been formatted for a very long time.
First I did a quick format through my computer (Windows 7) and it was successful, but I want to make sure everything inside is perfect so I went ahead and started a Full Format (both formats were set to NTFS as I was transferring files larger than 4GB each and FAT would not allow it so I had switched it over a while back) and the full format has been running for 12 hours now and is only at 3%.
Is this normal? Is there a way to do it faster? If I were to run a disk check on it during a re-boot wouldn't that scan for bad sectors and let me know if I even need a full format?

Any help is appreciated!
 
The drive is probably on its way out. A 500GB drive with a full format should only take about 45 minutes.
 
Its doing something, the drive is spinning, and the box is warm, not hot. Should I just let it go, or should I just quick format it and be done?
 
If it's sitting during a full format that means the drive is on its way out. Don't trust it.
 
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