Is it true that once files are deleted from the recycling bin (or “trash” via Mac), they remain stored somewhere on a hard drive? If so, wouldn’t this still fill up space?
If you can fully delete them, are the files actually destroyed in a sense?
In: Technology
Think of it like a massive whiteboard with writing all over the place. People claim bits of the whiteboard and that part is protected – no one else is allowed to write on their section. When you need to write something, you just claim a bit of unclaimed space.
When someone is done with a section, they just say, “Hey, I’m not using this part of the whiteboard anymore. Anyone is free to use it.” They don’t erase what they wrote, but anyone can come along and erase/reuse that part if they need to.
That is how your harddrive works. When a file is ‘deleted’ all that is done is harddrive says that area is available to be written. The data is still there until something comes along and writes over it.
There are ways to _truly_ delete the files – you can write over that section with new data multiple times. If you do **that** the file is truly gone, and this ‘secure delete’ is used for sensitive files. Most of the time, though, it is unnecessary.
Latest Answers