[Jay_Shrimper]

How do I use Eraser?

Basically I want to delete all files on my hardrive. Word documents, pictures, excel sheets etc...

I want to delete them all so that they can't be recovered!

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Files only, or everything including windows?

[Retired Tech]

Files only, or everything including windows?

[Jay_Shrimper]

Just files that I have deleted from my computer already, but I want to make sure they are deleted and can't be recovered.

[Retired Tech]

There are a number of recovery programmes here, most are trials which can mean they will only show what can be recovered until you purchase them, some are free

One thing to watch, installing any programme uses hard drive space which can overwrite files you are trying to recover, (which you already knew ) so avoid installing any more than you need to

You can also use the trial of Tune Up, this will show and recover, if needed, any files it finds

http://www.tune-up.com

Click the yello desktop icon, click file recovery and destruction, the tick should be in the hard drive, click next, put a tick in show only files in good condition, click next

[Jay_Shrimper]

I don't want to recover files, I want to make sure files CAN'T be recovered...by making sure they are fully deleted!!
.

[Retired Tech]

Which is why you would run a recovery programme

If you can recover files, anyone can

Click cancel after you see what can be recovered

[Jay_Shrimper]

I know.

What I want is to delete all the files from my computer, and then from the hardrive all together!

[Retired Tech]

So far, I have replied on the basis of post 3

You have deleted files and you want to make sure nobody can recover them

Do you want to delete everything except Windows and programmes?

[Jay_Shrimper]

You have deleted files and you want to make sure nobody can recover them

Yes.

[Retired Tech]

Then it is down to trying to recover them first

Tune Up also has a shredder which can overwrite the files repeatedly, but you will need the files to shred

Run tune up using show only files in good condition, recover those to a folder you create, (not their original location), right click the folder, click tune up shredder, set the number of overwrites to 10 (or anything more than that), use the drop down menu to select the secure gutmann method, click next, confirm

I create a folder and send everything for deletion to it, not the recycle bin, doing this will make sure any files you delete from now on are unlikely to be recovered

[Jay_Shrimper]

Excellent! Thats pretty straight forward to understand, I'm doing that now. =]

So once I've rightclicked, and then it's finished deleting it all, it can't be recovered, whereas deleting it via the recycle bin, it can be?

[Retired Tech]

Unless the men in black call round to scan your hard drive

The recycle bin shows files as deleted by removing the reference to the file only

Something to watch for

Shredding depends on the assumptions that files are not moved in the file system during their lifetime, which fails if defragmentation is done, and that they are overwritten in place, which may fail on modern file systems.

Create the folder and shred it between defrags

[Jay_Shrimper]

Men in black??????

So what your saying to make sure the files can't be found .. by anyone .. is to do a disc defragment and then shred the folder then do another disc defragment.

Sorry, you probably always get a plank like me everyday, don't you?

[Retired Tech]

When you have finished this folder, defrag the drive

Create another folder, move whatever files you want to shred to it, over any timeframe, just shred the folder before running defrag

Create another folder and so on

[Jay_Shrimper]

Ahhh right excellent!

Thanks a bunch Keith, very, very much appreciated.

Does re-formating the computer also perm. delete all the files? Cos I've got a disc and every so often I re-install windows but 're-format' it ... by deleting the partition and then reinstalling it.

Does that do anything? Does that mean files can't be found, not even by the men in black?