[Master T]

1. Hello. I would like to see if all data files in my computer are still healthy, i.e. they haven't been damaged or corrupt yet. Manually opening one by one is not an option. There are literally millions of files.

I knew the System File Checker but it is only for Windows system files. I want to check the health of all my data files. Disk checking, as far as I know, has nothing to do with file corruption. The drive can be healthy even if some files have been corrupt unrelated to drive failure reasons.

I tried to search on the net but couldn't find any.

Any method or workaround which could check for file corruption & errors, even if the check is not comprehensive or faultless, is much appreciated. Thank you.


2. I would like to ask whether there is any good program which could:
(A) *really* wipe specific files and folders irrecoverably
(B) *really* wipe the data of whole drive/disk irrecoverably
I hear that some programs claim it does but actually not (it's still there when you use the recovery program) so I want something which is really working, be it free or paid. Thank you.

Edited by Master T, 18 July 2009 - 09:25 AM.

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Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go.

The only files that you can check are the system files. I assume that is what you want.
Go to start
Go to run
Type in cmd
In the window that appears you need to type in sfc /scannow->->->Note the space before the /
If there are any files that require replacing, you will need your Operating system CD.

As for security wiping files and the hard drive, DBAN is a good 1. It will wipe to the DOD (department of defense standards). You can run it a few times.
From my understanding there is no program that will completely wipe a drive where it can not be recovered. Of course the recovery would have to be by a professional recovery service and would be outrageously expensive. The only way to make a drive unreadable so no-one can retrieve data is to smash it into millions of little pieces.

[123Runner]

Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go.

The only files that you can check are the system files. I assume that is what you want.
Go to start
Go to run
Type in cmd
In the window that appears you need to type in sfc /scannow->->->Note the space before the /
If there are any files that require replacing, you will need your Operating system CD.

As for security wiping files and the hard drive, DBAN is a good 1. It will wipe to the DOD (department of defense standards). You can run it a few times.
From my understanding there is no program that will completely wipe a drive where it can not be recovered. Of course the recovery would have to be by a professional recovery service and would be outrageously expensive. The only way to make a drive unreadable so no-one can retrieve data is to smash it into millions of little pieces.

[Master T]

Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go.

The only files that you can check are the system files. I assume that is what you want.
Go to start
Go to run
Type in cmd
In the window that appears you need to type in sfc /scannow->->->Note the space before the /
If there are any files that require replacing, you will need your Operating system CD.

That's not what I want unfortunately. What I want to check are exactly the opposite - It's the data/personal files that we care about. But opening one by one is practically impossible.
Well, any method which can check part or all of the files is appreciated.

As for security wiping files and the hard drive, DBAN is a good 1. It will wipe to the DOD (department of defense standards). You can run it a few times.
From my understanding there is no program that will completely wipe a drive where it can not be recovered. Of course the recovery would have to be by a professional recovery service and would be outrageously expensive. The only way to make a drive unreadable so no-one can retrieve data is to smash it into millions of little pieces.

Oh how is it possible? I don't realize it's impossible to erase files completely once written.
I supposed the "deleted" file is still there because the blocks of data (which could be spread across different places of the physical drive) haven't been rewritten completely by other data. It's no longer recoverable once all blocks of data have been rewritten. But it appears I'm wrong again.

[123Runner]

I do not know of a way to "check" your data files. maybe someone else will have more info.

As for security wiping a drive...
A file is not truely deleted. If is overwritten, then it can still be recovered (just harder). The more you write over it, the harder it is to recover. It depends on how paranoid you are.

There are many programs (free and paid) that will wipe a drive.
There are just as many programs (free and paid) that will recover data. The recovery (again) depends on how many times data has been saved to the drive, because data is saved all over the drive.

Some interesting reading. Secure File Deletion. Fact or Fiction?

[Master T]

I do not know of a way to "check" your data files. maybe someone else will have more info.

It hasn't to be comprehensive. Any initial, indirect or partial solution is still appreciated.

There are many programs (free and paid) that will wipe a drive.
There are just as many programs (free and paid) that will recover data. The recovery (again) depends on how many times data has been saved to the drive, because data is saved all over the drive.

Yes that's what I'm confusing about. I don't have the necessary knowledge to understand whether the program really works or not.

Edited by Master T, 18 July 2009 - 02:00 PM.

[Master T]

Some interesting reading. Secure File Deletion. Fact or Fiction?

It introduces different methods of data destruction. I wonder which method is the safest or most efficient?

[123Runner]

The safest is smashing the drive in to little pieces and then scattering them.

[Master T]

The safest is smashing the drive in to little pieces and then scattering them.

Yes but this option is not possible when you are still using the drive when you have to periodically remove sensitive data.