How to Permanently Delete Files from Computer without Recovery?

In this article, you will learn how to permanently delete files from computer without recovery on Windows 11 and 10. Clearing your recycle bin is not enough to remove your data permanently from the machines.

Many users think that emptying the recycle bin will permanently remove the files from the hard drive. This is not true. Any forensic expert (for legal work) and hackers can easily recover that data using multiple solutions available on the market, which is not safe for anyone.

Because malicious cyber threats are increasing day by day, they can easily recover your deleted data easily to manipulate your data without your permission.

But how? The reason is simple, when you erase data from your computer, the traces will remain on the disk. Clusters of these files stay on the disk unless you overwrite that data. So, it will be a good choice to use any anti-forensic tool that permanently deletes your data.

However, choosing the right solution to permanently delete files from computer without recovery is another hectic task for users. So don’t worry, today in this write-up, we will explain all the possible related information with a step-by-step guide.

How to Permanently Delete Files on a PC?

• Step 1: Download and run the solution.
• Step 2: Choose the Logical Drive to free space.
• Step 3: Select the drive which has files to delete.
• Step 4: Check the folders for removal from PC.
• Step 5: Enable filters from the Filter Options tab.
• Step 6: Select the Wipe Methods as needed.
• Step 7: Hit the “Wipe” button to permanently delete files from computer without recovery.

How to Permanently Delete Files from Computer/ PC on Windows 10, 11?

It is very important to erase your data permanently from the machine, for that you can follow the given manual methods:

• Using Delete Icon
• Command Prompt
• Cipher
• PowerShell
• Built-in Disk Cleanup Utility
• SDelete Method

#1: Fully Delete Files on Windows 11, 10 with Delete Option

This method only allows users to remove files and data from the machine not permanently. But we are using this method here, because it is traditional way to perform this task.

1. Open “File Explorer” on your PC.
2. Find your files to remove.
3. Select the file as per choice.
4. You can use “CTRL+ A” and “Shift” to select needed files.
5. Next, hit on the “CTRL + D” or “Shift + Delete” tab.
6. Even you can choose the “Delete” option from the ribbon area.
7. A warning message will appear and hit on the “Yes” icon.

#2: How to Permanently Delete Files from Computer without Recovery?

We will use Command Prompt to completely delete files from PC/ Computer. But using command prompt is not easy for any user especially for non-technical users. Because of the technical interface, and also one mistake can lose your data permanently even important as well. So be careful while using this method to permanently delete files from Computer. It can easily handle long file names and special characters. All the working steps are given below in detail:

1. Click on the “Windows + R” key.
2. Type “CMD” in the Run dialog box.
3. Hit on the “Ctrl + Shift + Enter”.
4. Command Prompt with administrator privileges will start.
5. Use the “cd” command here to get into the folder to find the particular folder you want to delete.
6. After that, type: del /f /q followed by the file name. For Example: del /f /q “filename.txt”. Here is the purpose of using “f” and “q” to delete forcefully.

#3: Permanently Delete Files on PC with Cipher

This method helps to remove data beyond recovery, it will overwrite with random patterns. Here are the easy-to-use steps to perform this task:

1. Again, open the Command Prompt using “Windows + R” >> type “CMD” and click on the “Ctrl + Shift + Enter”.
2. Use the “cd” command to modify directories and find the files that you want to permanently delete files from Computer without recovery.
3. After that, type “cipher /w:filename.txt” and change the “filename.txt” to the actual name of your file. this method will overwrite the file with random values, which makes the file unrecoverable to anyone.

#4: Permanently Delete Files from Computer without Recovery: PowerShell

PowerShell is the most powerful choice to perform this task. Because it has a powerful script for deleting your data, which keeps your data safe and secure. Let’s come to the working steps:

1. Again, start the Run and enter “PowerShell” and the “Enter” button.
2. Find the location of your file, which you want to remove using the “Set-Location” command for example: (Set-Location “C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents”)
3. After that, type “Remove-Item -Path ‘filename.txt’ -Recurse” and change the “filename.txt” with the real name of your file.

#5: Built-in Disk Cleanup Utility

Disk Cleanup is the built-in feature, that is used to permanently delete files from Computer Windows 11, and 10. It is mainly developed to erase Hard Drive before selling it. It can remove your unnecessary files from the machine securely.

1. Head to the File Explorer on PC.
2. Right-click on any drive for cleaning.
3. Choose the “Properties” option.
4. Hit on the “General” and “Disk Cleanup” options.
5. Select “Clean Up System Files” for cleaning in a more efficient way.
6. Wait for the moment, the tool is calculating your space.
7. Enable the boxes of those files that you want to remove like Temporary Internet Files, Recycle Bin, -Temporary Files, -Downloaded Program Files, and other files.
8. Lastly, click on the “OK” button to start the cleaning process.
9. A warning message will pop up and confirm it.

#6: Permanently Delete Files from Computer using SDelete

This is another amazing and powerful method to remove your files easily. This tool will overwrite files multiple times so that no one can recover those files. it comes with the Microsoft Sysinternals suite, which is an official Microsoft tool.

1. 1. Firstly, download the “SDelete” tool using Microsoft Sysinternals (“https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sdelete”).
   2. You will get a Zip file, and extract it to a folder.
   3. Launch the Command Prompt as administrator.
   4. Locate the “SDelete” directory.
   5. Now use these commands to permanently delete files from Computer without recovery.

 # sdelete -p 3 -s C:\path\to\your\file.ext

sdelete -p 3 -s -r C:\path\to\your\directory

sdelete -p 3 -c C:

How to Permanently Delete Files on Windows without Recovery? All Steps

This application is designed with advanced algorithms to provide the easiest solution to its users to permanently delete files from Computer. You can understand the overall working of this application just by following these simple steps:

1. Firstly, install & run the software on your Microsoft Windows 11, 10. You can read all the important instructions from here.

   

2. The utility will ask the users to load the data in its panel in dual ways i.e., the “Select Files” or “Select Folders” option. Browse for the location to choose files.

   

3. This application will list all the folder items in its panel. Here users have the choice to select items. Click on the “Next” button for the next window.

   

4. Now, the utility will provide various Wipe Methods including Zero, Random, Wipe File, US Navy, US DOD, Microsoft Cipher, Bit Toggle, NATO Standard, Peter Gutmann, etc. Choose any of these options according to your choice.

   

5. In the next section, a user can apply multiple advanced filter settings including Date Range, File Mask (any specific file format), and overwrite Data Text (DeletedData using —BR—). Choose any of these options.

   

6. Now, click on the Wipe button. The utility will pop up a warning message i.e., your files or folders once deleted cannot be recovered back. If you are sure to do so, click on the “Yes” button.

   

7. The utility will permanently delete all the required items & then display a confirmation message box. Click on the “OK” button here.

   

8. In the end, the utility will generate a SavingLog report that includes all the information regarding the data deletion process i.e., Start Date & Time, Delete Method, Path, Files Wiped, Total Files Wiped, Total Bytes Wiped, or final Status of the process.

From the above, you can understand that it is the simplest procedure to securely and permanently delete files from Computer.

FAQ’s

• Q 1: Does this utility safe to use?

  Ans: Yes, you should not be worried about the security of your data. The toolkit is completely safe to use.

• Q 2: I want to use this application on my Windows 11 device. Is it compatible with the latest Windows OS device?

  Ans: Yes, this application is fully compatible with all the latest versions & editions of Microsoft Windows including Windows 11, 10, Win 8.1, Win 8, Win 7, Win XP, etc.

• Q 3: Do I get an enhanced log report to share with my seniors?

  Ans: Yes, the utility will generate the SavingLog report so that you can share it with your seniors.

• Q 4: Can I delete multiple files simultaneously using your application?

  Ans: Yes, the utility supports the batch deletion of multiple files permanently so that they cannot be recovered.

Final Words:

In the above article, I explained the best way to securely permanently delete files from Computer without recovery. You can do it easily with the help of a professional toolkit that provides users with a direct option to do so. The utility is fully compatible with all the latest versions of Microsoft Windows and Mac.

You can use the manual methods at your own risk because one wrong mistake can lead permanent deletion of your data from your important files. And if you want to remove those files which contain confidential information, then go for the automatic solution.