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deleting files - does it damage the hard drive?

pookie

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Posted September 27, 2012 at 8:12PM

Hi,

Windows 7 Home Edition. I use Ccleaner to delete files/ internet history etc. It is on default one pass deletion but notice it has options up to 35 pass deletion. Does the 35 pass deletion put a lot of wear on the hard drive? I ask as I ran it once and apart from taking ages to do the hard drive seemed noisier than usual.

Thank you

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compumac

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Posted September 27, 2012 at 8:46PM

No

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SparkyJack

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Posted September 28, 2012 at 4:33PM

perhaps Compumac's correct answer needs a little clarification

When a file marked 'delete' it not actually 'scrubbed' from the disc What happens is the 'index' reference is switched off so the file still exists on the disc untill the released space is over written- as those who have something to hide have discovered to their chagrin.

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Fruit Bat /\0/\

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Posted September 28, 2012 at 5:20PM

Your not talking about deleting files that happens all the time with normal operation of the PC and it doesn't harm the drive.

You are talking about using ccleaners wipe drive (or wipe free space)option for making sure a file is permanently erased and unrecoverable.

What this does is overwrite where the file or space is located with zeros making any data unrecoverable its the writing data several times that takes up all the time and makes the "noise" again it does no harm to the drive.

However a SSD has a limited number of read-write operations so data should be kept on a "normal drive" and the SSD used for the op system only.

I.E. Do Not Defrag a SSD or Use a driver wiper /erasure program with lots of passes on a SSD

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Ian in Northampton

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Posted September 28, 2012 at 5:33PM

It's probably true to say that any hard drive will fail after some number of rotations/head accesses. They are fundamentally mechanical devices. As such, in theory, the more they're used, the faster they're likely to wear out/break. But that's pretty relative in the grand scheme of things. A multipass erase such as the one you're talking about would certainly shorten your drive's life - but by only minutes or hours at worst, I'd guess - against a likely lifetime that's measurable in years. As Fruit Bat says: SSDs are very different animals, not least because they're electronic, not mechanical.

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compumac

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Posted September 28, 2012 at 7:01PM

I should add that I merely said a very brief NO as I was on my way out of the house and was therefore unable to elaborate further. I regarded the CCleaner cleaning action alone as having no detrimental effect whatsoever in respect of wear and tear.

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pookie

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Posted September 28, 2012 at 8:37PM

Thank you all

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woodchip

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Posted December 19, 2012 at 12:45PM

You can use get programs that will remove clear space, ie; things deleted from Index file, but leaving the files

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