If you are curious about the meaning of formatting computer, it usually involves preparation of a storage device for use through creation of its file system. Formatting a hard drive or USB drive allows a computer to create a new file structure on the storage device. This could be beneficial for the future storage of information but could also lead to loss of already existing files on the drive. Quick formatting does not necessarily wipe out the existing data while full formatting and SSD TRIM operations reduce the chances of recovery considerably. So, before formatting any storage device, you should always backup your files. If you accidentally format a storage device, do not store any new information on it.