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Question
In your January 23, 2005 episode, Mark Powell stated that when you delete files, the files still remain
on your computer, and all you are actually doing when you delete files is destroying the table of contents,
and so you need to make sure to use special software to wipe your hard drive clean before you dispose of your computer.
Here are my questions:
- Is that still true even if you empty your Recycle Bin, after deleting the file? When I delete a file
and then empty the Recycle Bin, the amount of available storage space on my hard drive seems to revert back
to what it was before I created the file in the first place. If what Mr. Powell
was saying is true, then the amount of used storage space on my hard drive shouldn't decrease back
down to its original value, should it?
- Also, if what he was saying were true, then wouldn't
everyone eventually run completely out of storage space on their computer, even though they have deleted unnecessary files?
— A viewer
Answer
A "Tech Talk" staff member responded:
What your computer is doing when you throw a file from your hard drive into the trash or recycle is
simply moving the location of the file. When you actually empty the trash or recycle bin, your computer is simply
deleting the record of that file from the table of contents, as Mark said, and is not removing the file from your
harddrive. However, your computer is marking the space that the file takes up on the harddrive as available to
be used for something else. Eventually, as you create new files, that available space which retains the file you
"deleted" will be overwritten by new data. That is the point when the file is actually deleted from your harddrive.
Depending on how large your harddrive is and how frequently you create new files, this process could take a short
or very long period of time. This is why it's a necessary step when you dispose of an old computer to fully wipe
the harddrive, not just "delete" the files you don't want other folks to have access to.
Sincerely,
—Tech Talk Staff
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