completely deleting files from removable drives

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tom H.
  • Start date Start date
T

Tom H.

Hello,
I understand that in Windows XP each drive has its own recycle bin. I would
like to empty the recycle bin on just my removable drive while leaving C:
alone. What is the best way to do this? I need to free up space on my thumb
drive, and it appears to be full becuase files I deleted are still held in
recycle. I remember once doing a disk cleanup or something of that sort and
having the option to empty the recycle bin on just that drive, but now I
cannot remember what that operation was.

TIA for any help on this matter.

Tom
 
Start Disk Cleanup, select the appropriate drive letter for your removable
drive, Click 'OK', then select the Recycle Bin option and click on the 'OK'
button.

JS
 
With the thumb drive, if I start disk cleanup it begins to scan C: and does
not give me a chance to select another drive. I think when this worked for
me before I had an external USB hard drive attached, and I was somehow able
to start disk cleanup on that drive, but I can't figure out how to do it on
the thumb drive.

Tom
 
Start/Run/cleanmgr.exe /de

Examples
The /de tells Disk Cleanup to use drive e
/df would be drive f
/dx (where the letter x would be the drive letter for your usb drive)

JS
 
I think that there is no 'disk cleanup' on a 'device with removable storage'
(thumb drive).
( at least that is how my vista home premium/thumb drive behaves)
Michael
 
hmmmm,
my thumb drive is FAT formatted so maybe that is why I don't have disk
cleanup.
Michael
 
Hi Michael,
Following JS's instructions worked for me on my XP system, and yes, my thumb
drive is FAT formatted.

Thanks for the help JS.


Tom
 
You're welcome.

JS

Tom H. said:
Hi Michael,
Following JS's instructions worked for me on my XP system, and yes, my
thumb drive is FAT formatted.

Thanks for the help JS.


Tom
Click to expand...
 
For those who may be following this thread, I just noticed something that
explains why I have been able to do this on other drives, but needed the
command line info from JS for my thumb drive. I was just backing up to my
external HD and found that the drive properties window contains a clickable
box just to the right of the disk usage pie chart. That clickable box says
"disk cleanup" and allows one to cleanup that disk and empty its trash.
That *clickable box is missing* from the properties window on the thumb
drive, and that is why I asked my original question here. I had this
recollection of having used disk cleanup on an external drive and emptying
trash before, but I was unable to get back to that place with the thumb
drive. Now I know that it was not just my memory (brain memory that is)
fading on me!!!

Tom
 
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