free disk space wiping

[mjsmolko]

ive formatted my c drive about 3 times in 2 years and have just wiped the free space on it. my c drive has windows on it too.

i was wondering if when i wipe the free space on my c drive, does that free space include the WHOLE hard disk or just part of it?

I.e. if i wipe the free space on C, will there be any previously deleted data anywhere remaining on the hard disk - ANYWHERE?

 

[becroydon]

deleted data always remains on your hard disk, its only its record in the table of contents that is deleted

 

[ekÆsine]

wiping free space means you wiped whatever space that was not currently being occupied by data. example you have a 20GB hard disk and 15GB is full with 5GB of free space.....that 5GB is what is wiped. the free space is located in random places due to file fragmentation. if you want more security you would have to encrypt your data after wiping the entire hard disk

 

[ekÆsine]

under great guidance and wisdom shared by you Dave plus some screwing around and losing a lot of my pr0n on my part helped me learn a lot....but luckily i had the backups made just before it all crashed.

i could have lost my entire collection of pr0n which i've spent my entire life trying to accumilate. the pr0n gods must be protecting my precious pr0n.......my.....preciousssSSsssss......oops sorry i love lord of the rings

Hey Bruce..your getting pretty good at this encrypt/wipeing stuff.....LOL

 

[HoLoCroN]

ekÆsine/Microbell (Everyone else)

Good job guys, there are allot of people that can't grasp this concept. When you delete a file, you simply delete its location on your computer.. when you "empty" your recyble bin, you delete the actual location the file was located in (The file is actually put into the hard drive's free space and overwritten at a random basis)

That is how all those kiddy porn perverts get caught..

I am actually looking into a field called Computer Forensics, which has to do with recovering data which might have been deleted by people... or so they think...

Check this site out, its definitely a good read. http://www.cops.org/forensic_examination_procedures.htm#Hard Disk Examination_