Delete large file

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bill
  • Start date Start date
B

Bill

Tried to delete an eight gig file and received a
message "Recycle Bin" cannot handle a file of this is
size. Would you like to remove it permanently? I'm not
sure of the exact wording but it is something along those
lines. I selected yes and the file disappeared as if it
was deleted. However, the eight gig did not leave my
hard drive. The percentage used and the percentage free
never changed. Where did the file go and how come the
space was never recovered? I tried rebooting,
defragging, and disk clean up nothing seemed to work.
 
It hasn't actually gone anywhere. The file is still there. The only
difference is that xp has marked the file as free space so that it can be
overwritten by other files. It doesn't matter what files you delete they
never disappear from your drive, they simple get overwritten over a period
of time. One suggestion i can make, after all you deleted 8gb so you should
get that amount back and it should have shown that it had been retrieved, is
to use an application called WipeOut www.securitysoftware.cc Make sure you
use the advanced settings and this will clear out your internet folder,
cookies, caches etc and will also wipe your free space (the default is to
overwrite 16 times but i reduce it to 2 times because it casn take an age if
you have a large drive. On average my 15gb of free space takes around 90
minutes to clean) This may help reset things and give you back your 8gb. It
is a good security program and is free so it is worth having. Givew it a try
and see if it can reclaim your 8gb.
Incidentally, after wiping the free space it is wise to defrag the drive tp
put everything neatly in order.

Hope this helps

John Barnett - MVP
Associate expert
 
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