Where do files go when you delete them from your PC?

Question

What i mean is if you have a word/text file and you delete it or you wants to clear your internet history to stop slow down, where doed it all go? even when you clear your recycle bin, it must go someone, information can't just disapear can it?

Answer 1

Without getting too technical, when you delete a file, all you are doing is removing a flag which allows your computer to find the file. The file is still there on your hard drive, and depending on the size of your hard drive and the amount of information you store on it, it may or may not be over-written in time.

Answer 2

When you delete something, whether it's a normal file that goes to your recycle bin which you then delete or whether you delete your history or cookies to help speed up your PC it does actually go somewhere if that's what you want to know.

All files that are deleted to your recycle bin which you then delete from the recycle bin are fragmented and sometimes corrupted and stored in a hidden system compartment.

So what happens then you cry?

The next time you install some software or save something from the internet or whenever you save something which is larger than the deleted file it will get overwritten and will be basically destroyed.

The more in-depth reason for where files etc go is as follows: like above, the files etc are sent to a hidden unchangeable compartment, BUT this compartment which consists of all your hidden files etc are not actually saved anymore becasue they don't have a space allocation anymore - so basically it's like you living wherever you do except you don't have a house number or phone number (you don't exist).

Following on, all of those files in the compartment are unaddressed, therefore they are "Literaly" not taking up any space; now that the files, history etc are unaddressed and are not remembered by your PC and don't take any space which means that the next time you save something it will get written over which will then delete those files etc forever.

If you were to loose a file for example and you wanted it back, then you could use a recovery system but that doesn't always work.

Hope your question is answered.

Answer 3

When you delete a files the pointer to the files is deleted and thus the file system FAT/NTFS etc reports that the space is free to overwrite. Now that file could stay on your system for ever if that location not overwritten.
You can recover files with ceratin utilities that let undelete these files and readd them to the FAT/NTFS file directory structure. Even if you format the entire drive you can still recover data with the right tools.
If you want to completely get rid of everything you need to nuke your drive, or use a piece of software that sweeps your disk turning the binary bits all on then off, do this several times and the data will be unrecoverable.
This is the same with all OS's (Windows/Unix/Mac) as filesystem can be read by different OS's.

Answer 4

It doesn't go anywhere! All that happens is Windows marks that area of the drive as being available. And the next time it needs a space that size to save info it will write over it.
If you want to recover it you probably can, you can get software from snapfile.com that will get your deleted files back.
If you want to get rid of it you have to use a file shredder. This overwrites that section of the hard drive about 20 times with a pattern that makes the original info difficult to recover.

Answer 5

they don't go anywhere your PC just flags that space to be reused that's why a good recovery program can get them back some people like the police can get files back even after the hard drive has been written over and over the on
there is a program that will fill the hard drive up with zeros and ones that gets rid of everything

Answer 6

The files are never deleted they are just hidden, this is why there is data & forensic software which can retreave data that has been deleted, the only way to permantly delete info from your harddrive is a strong magnet, but to do this will distroy your harddrive and there must be something very important you dont want people to see

Answer 7

Of course information disappears. But not even when you empty the recycle bin. They get stored partially in some platter and clusters, and sometimes this is even recoverable. And if files did not disappear, all of us would need 1tb hard drives.

Answer 8

When you delete a file, the first letter of the file name is replaced with a '?'. This tells the computer that everything that follows is considered as free memory. The actual file is still there, unless it is overwritten by fresh files.

I hope this helps.

Answer 9

Someone told me that when you delete you just cut the string that pulls it out. It is still there but you can.t access it.

Answer 10

You have to sweep them up off the floor.
Dont leave it too long as they build up