How Windows And Drives Handle Deleted Files

Deleted files from a hard disk drive, pen drive, etc. disappear and move somewhere. Have you ever wondered, "How did they go away?" This post unravels where our deleted files move immediately after erasing them.

New drives require that you format them before you can use them. This makes new drives ready to accept new data. Re-writable drives often write, delete, and re-write data uncountable times. On the Computer, Windows creates a file system, which means the disk is ready to accept data. This file system is a -table which can be FAT (File Allocation Table), or NTFS (New Technology File System). While FAT has a limitation of 4GB writable space, NTFS offers more. This makes NTFS suitable for PCs and large devices.

This table will contain the names and addresses of the files stored on the disk. In other words, every file that you save will have its exact location (physical address) on the hard disk. When you save or place any file in the disk, Windows will create some numbers representing the sectors (very small parts of the disk) in which the file resides then place those numbers in the file system table. Double clicking to open a file, Windows will take the file name, then check the table to see the numbers (addresses) of the sectors where the file is located on the hard drive and then it will direct the #head of the hard disk to move to those sectors and read their contents, after that the file opens.

How Do My Deleted Files Disappear?

When you delete a file (or a Virus deletes a file automatically), Windows removes the numbers (the address of the file) from the file system table. That means, the deleted file is technically there on the hard disk but its location is not known. The icon (not the contents) representing the file will be placed in Recycle Bin. The reference to the file is removed from the table but the file itself is there hiding somewhere on the disk. The sectors the file occupies will be marked as free (free space) that's why other new files can occupy those sectors. This happens to all deleted files.

Using recovery software will bring the numbers back and put them on the table. This makes the file accessible again. Formatting the drive will 'permanently' erase the tables. This makes your file unrecoverable. But thanks to some software that can help you recover files after formatting your drive. This software "recreates" the tables again making your file visible. You can use FREE Recuva OR Easus Data Recovery. Many powerful antivirus programs will keep your files from automatic deletion by a virus.