Files deleted?

[Jetter]

I hav'nt had a computer for long, its a HP windows XP, my first one. I have probably a pretty basic querry for anyone who cares to help, I was wondering after you empty the recycle bin, where do the deleted files go from there?
Are they erased into permanent irretrievable non existance or are they still saved some where on your computer?

[benzipperer]

Some or part of the contents of the files may possibly be recovered using special software tools.

[smurfy]

Deleting the files from the Windows operating system just marks the space taken up by those files as available for writing other files. The longer you use your computer after "permanently" deleting a file, the more chance it's data will be over-written, reducing the likelihood of successfully recovering the file.

[Jetter]

Originally Posted by smurfy

Deleting the files from the Windows operating system just marks the space taken up by those files as available for writing other files. The longer you use your computer after "permanently" deleting a file, the more chance it's data will be over-written, reducing the likelihood of successfully recovering the file.

Thanks, so by permanently you mean emptying the recycle bin?

[Jetter]

Originally Posted by benzipperer

Some or part of the contents of the files may possibly be recovered using special software tools.

Even if they are over written?

[oracle128]

Originally Posted by Jetter

Thanks, so by permanently you mean emptying the recycle bin?

That is one way, yes. Also, holding Shift while pressing delete will bypass the Recycle Bin, permanently deleting them. Same thing with file deletions from the command line.

Originally Posted by Jetter

Even if they are over written?

The way (magnetic) hard drives work, even if a file is 'overwritten', it may not be entirely overwritten. Parts of the file, even a majority of it, may be left intact, making it potentially partially recoverable. Also, beyond software recovery tools, there are means to analyse the electrons on the hard drive to determine what their previous state was after being overwritten, even after several overwrites. Typical home users generally don't have to worry about that kind of recovery though, it's expensive and requires physical possession of the drive for several days.