2007-03-04 08:41:00 · 9 answers · asked by Jordan W 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Other - Computers
Yes, unless you format the hard drive and use a Department of Defense (DOD) certified hard disk cleaning program like Eraser.
I think it's free from sourceforge.net
2007-03-04 08:46:52 · answer #1 · answered by ELfaGeek 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi,
No it is eventually overwritten. When you delete something the entry of that file is deleted in a system file called the FAT (File Allocation Table). Therefore the record to where it is located on the hard disk is lost, but the actual data still remains.
2007-03-04 08:47:28 · answer #2 · answered by jt_technical_service 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No some day it will have something written over it. If you want something permanently removed from your hard drive you have two choices
1. the worst choice is to reformat the drive -- removes everything
2. delete the file then do maintenance like defrag the drive. Defrag shuffles everything around and chances are the deleted file will be overwritten.
2007-03-04 08:47:45 · answer #3 · answered by pilot 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes to a point when the hard drive is wrote to, as in adding programs that would use the space you have deleted items in. Other than that yes it stays on hard drive. Even if the space has been writen over it is still possible to recover some parts of files.
2007-03-04 08:49:50 · answer #4 · answered by Dennis G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. This is how the law enforcement agencies use computer forensics to collect information from computers when investigating crimes such as child pornograhy. This information though a person may think is deleted is still on the hard drive.
2007-03-04 08:46:49 · answer #5 · answered by Sparkles 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you just delete, the file is not actually deleted, it's area on the HD is simply marked as available for other files to write over.
To actually delete, you then need to write over the same area of the HD multiple times to be absolutely sure it's gone.
2007-03-04 08:46:30 · answer #6 · answered by Raymond 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Retrievable? Yes.
2007-03-04 08:43:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
when you delete something, you only delete the file end and start. there are some programs that can find these and replace them
2007-03-04 08:43:12 · answer #8 · answered by geoff w 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For instance if you delete your cookies they are not actually deleted. They are stored MS-Dos so you have to go ibnto Dos and remove them or delete the index.dat file.
2007-03-04 08:43:40 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋