How do you permantly delete files from your computer after you have already erased them?

Question

I wanted to know if there is a way after deleting files from your computer if there is a way to permantley delete them without having to wipe your hard drive? not while they are in the recycle bin or still on your computer but after they are already deleted! thank you. 10 points best answer. I'm running windows 7 ultimate

Answer 1

Files are never "deleted" from your computer.



When you delete a file, all you are doing is telling your computer that you are no longer using that piece of data and that the operating system can over write the data if it needs to.



The only REAL way of deleting a file from your computer is to use a software package that literally goes over all of the spaces on the disk that the operating system isn't using, and over writes it with "junk".



There are a few free software packages out there that can do this. Google "Hard Drive Wipe" and you should be able to find a free program you can use to go and write over all of your "blank" data.



Keep in mind though, even doing this isn't 100% fool proof. These wiping programs use an algorithim (formula) to write over the data. It is still possible to use sophiscitaced "unwiping" software to go back through and unwrite what it over wrote.



Because of this, if you really want to get rid of your data, run the wiping several times, and do so using different programs. Even then, it is still possible to recover "erased" and "wiped" data.



The only sure fire way to make sure the files are completly deleted, is to physically destroy the disk the files are stored on.

Answer 2

You need a program which will over-write the free space on your hard drive. You can try eraser from heidi which is free but be careful or you could end up trashing your operating system! Make sure everything is set right before you let it loose

Answer 3

the perfect suggestion i will supply to all of us promoting their pc is to do a reinstallation of living house windows with the total format decision. that's truly no longer sufficient to delete your information (and that i mean via utilising a secure wipe)... I say this because there's a lot different information that we continuously forget is there... your information superhighway web site bookmarks... perhaps kind information you've on your browser .. that's heritage.. your e mail address e book, etc... you also do not favor them to have your approved classes or maybe your approved reproduction of living house windows except you're promoting them that too (which for sure you're or i'd've said wipe it and delivers em a clean disk :) So yea, it'smaybe a soreness to sit down down there and do a reinstall that would take an hour or so.. yet you do not favor to do living house windows updates or anyything fancy... be conscious:in case you do not have a living house windows cd and are in simple terms in possession of one in all those yucky fix disks from the computer seller then you definately might want to no longer have the alternative to format... yet you could likely get a boot disk or create a living house windows boot disk which must have the format decision on it if so you would possibly want to boot to a command on the spot and kind format c: It replaced into once a appreciably held belife that you had to do diverse formats (DoD 7 cases well-known) or drill holes in media... as of 2006 NIST got here out with a rejection of this declaring a unmarried wipe with a good device is sufficient to make information unrecoverable... the most there is sweet.. So that's the perfect i will say in this...if you're a company that bargains in own information it truly is ruled via regulatory acts which comprise HIPAA then your company must have rules governing this and if i replaced into the single writing the coverage i'd require the harddrives be wiped with a device like PGP (likely a minimum of three cases to be secure yet i'd say 7 to "CYA" and if the media replaced into no longer being resold i'd say wreck it by a SLA with a company like iron mountain). yet if you're inner most citizen without criminal ramifications for conserving information then a format and reinstall of living house windows might want to do the trick. sturdy success.

Answer 4

you would need to overwrite delete the free space several times to make sure they are gone and unrecoverable. GO to download.com and search for file eraser or disk eraser. there are a lot of free programs that will do this.

Answer 5

http://www.snapfiles.com/freeware/security/fwerase.HTML

You have to scroll down to see something called Eraser.