How to Permanently Remove Files from Your Hard Drive

FarBizarre

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posted on 20 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Simply putting files in the trash and emptying it leaves them on your hard drive in a form that is fairly easy to recover. This solution is free, and requires only a bit of time and access to an internet source. Follow some simple steps given below and remove the files.

Steps

Find a "low-level format tool" application online by searching freeware sites.

Format the partition on which you keep the files you want to get rid of, with the low level format tool. The easiest way is to find a bootable DOS floppy and copy the .exe program to it.

Reboot the computer using the floppy disk and run the tool. The physical space on the hard drive where your files are saved will be filled with zeros or random data. Afterwards, you can recreate the partition and store new files without any problems.

With CCleaner

Download and install CCleaner

Open the tools menu and select the "Drive Wiper" sub-tab option.

Select Wipe, select "Entire Drive (All data will be erased) " then Security. Determine how many passes it should take ("7 passes or 35 passes") and the drive you wish to wipe. The more passes the lower the chance your data will be recoverable. However, more passes may make the process take longer to complete.

Select Wipe: This process can take anywhere from a few minutes to days, depending on the number of passes and free space to recover. (400GB with 7 passes took me 8 hours)