How to Prevent File Recovery after Deletion!

When you delete a file, it’s often not entirely erased from your storage device. Instead, the system marks the space as available, allowing specialized software to potentially recover the data. There are a lot of File Recovery Software so that you can recover a file even if you permanently delete it.

If you want to ensure that deleted files can’t be recovered from your hard drive, you can wipe out the allocated space from the drive using a built-in tool in Windows.

Here’s a simple tutorial on how to prevent data recovery:

Step 1: Open Command Prompt

1. Press the Windows key on your keyboard or click the Start menu.
2. Type cmd in the search bar.
3. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Use the Cipher Command

• In the Command Prompt window, type the following command

cipher /w:C:\path\to\your\folder

• Replace C:\path\to\your\folder with the actual path of the drive or folder where you want to wipe the free space. If you want to wipe the entire drive, you can simply use the drive letter, like C:\.
• Press Enter.

NB: This will not delete your existing data as it will only wipe out the traces of deleted files. So you can safely run this command

The command will start running, and it may take some time depending on the size of the drive and the amount of free space. The cipher command overwrites the free space on the drive, making recovery of deleted files virtually impossible.

Once the process is complete, you will see a message indicating that the operation has finished. You can now close the Command Prompt window.

For Non-NTFS Drives

If your drive is not formatted with NTFS (for example, FAT32 or exFAT), the cipher command won’t work. In this case, consider using a file shredder program. Here are a few recommended options:

• File Shredder: Free application to shred and permanently remove files from your pc beyond recovery.
• Eraser: A free tool that securely deletes files and wipes free space.
• BleachBit: An open-source solution that includes file shredding capabilities.
• CCleaner: A popular utility that offers a free space wipe feature.

Just download one of these tools, follow the instructions provided, and securely wipe the free space on your non-NTFS drive.

By following these steps, you can ensure that deleted files are no longer recoverable, providing you with peace of mind. Whether you’re preparing your computer for resale or simply looking to enhance your data privacy, wiping the free space is an essential practice.