Permanently Delete Files on Windows 10/11 – Complete Removal

Summary: In this piece of information, we will discuss the different ways to permanently delete files on PC Windows 10/11. Also, will explore the appropriate reasons to wipe files.

In this prevailing era, secure file deletion is critical among users who are concerned about their personal information. Next, with the rise of malicious cyber threats and data importance, just simply moving a file to a recycle bin is not sufficient. Due to this, understanding the ways to completely erase files has become essential. So that, the unauthorized parties couldn’t recover the sensitive information.

Ensuring that files are deleted permanently is not just about wiping, but also about protecting the individual’s identity and privacy. Moreover, as the technology changes so will the updates need to be evolved to address the challenges with more robust security features. That’s why secure file deletion in Windows 10 & 11 is the need of the hour. The only way to accomplish complete wipe is to follow the steps:

What Happens if We Don’t Permanently Delete Large Files on PC?

Hitting on the Delete button doesn’t always completely erase the file or mean “gone forever.” Often, deleted files can be lingering on any corner of your PC posing a security risk. With this much being said, let’s explore the reasons to entirely wipe files on your computer safeguarding privacy and smooth functioning.

Storage inefficiency: Deleted large files take up plentiful space even though you can’t access them directly. This may slow down your PC performance. However, there is no practical real-life example of this aspect.

Privacy risk: Erased files could be used as ransomware by anonymous identities to sell your data. On the other hand, deleted files can be recovered by advanced software in case you are giving it to someone. Hence, this could expose your sensitive information.

No real deletion:  Removing files doesn’t delete them rather moves them to the recycle bin. Thereby, leaving space marked as free for new data arrival.

Clutter: Keeping unnecessary files makes it harder to find what you need.

Techniques to Permanently Delete Files on Windows 11 & 10

Completely wiping data has become essential to protect your privacy and confidential data. Now, to do so follow the strategies discussed here by using:

1. Shift + Delete
2. File Explorer Ribbon
3. Command Prompt
4. Cipher
5. PowerShell
6. Disk Cleanup Utility
7. SDelete

#1: Permanently Delete Files on Windows 11/10 Using Shift + Delete

The Shift + Delete is the traditional method to entirely delete files by bypassing the Recycle Bin. However, it is important to jot down why this method doesn’t completely erase the files from storage devices – leaving scope for recovery with specialized software.

• Navigate to the file(s) you want to erase – Open File Explorer. Browse the file/ folder location you wish to permanently delete.

• Select the file(s) – Press Ctrl + A to highlight all files. Or for selective pick, hold down the Ctrl key and click on each file.
• Permanently delete with a keyboard shortcut – Next, hold the Shift key and press the Delete key. This bypasses the Recycle Bin and permanently removes the files.

This method does not permanently delete files as it can be recovered by advanced forencics tools. Thus, for irrecoverable deletion jump to this section.

#2: Completely Erase Files Utilizing the File Explorer Ribbon

Likewise, the previous method, this guide with a hidden gem i.e. File Explorer Ribbon lets you bypass the Recycle Bin and permanently delete files. While the Recycle bin acts as a first layer of deletion but does not guarantee complete removal. With this much information, let’s get into the guide:

• Open File Explorer on your computer. Then, locate the files that you want to permanently erase.
• Either hold CTRL and click to pick a particular file(s) or use CTRL + A to highlight all files in a folder.
• After that, go to the “Delete” icon in the File Explorer ribbon. Now, a dropdown menu will appear. Here, pick the “Permanently delete” option to bypass the Recycle Bin way.

#3: How to Permanently Delete Files on Windows 10/11 with Command Prompt?

Using the Command Prompt (CMD) to delete files completely can be more extensive/ comprehensive than the graphical interface methods. This approach can handle files with long names or special characters, enabling the broad aspect for recursive deletion of directories. Further, this method is particularly useful for batch file deletions.

• Open Command Prompt as administrator – Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. Then, type “cmd“. After that, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch Command Prompt with administrator privileges.

• Navigate to the file location – Use the “cd” command to change and browse through the directories to reach the folder that contains the desired files you want to wipe.
• Permanently delete using the del command – Type “del /f /q” followed by the filename in quotes. For Example – del /f /q “filename.txt”. Here, the purpose of “/f” and “/q” is to force the deletion and suppress the confirmation prompt respectively.

#4: How to Securely Wipe Large Files on a PC with Cipher?

Performing permanent delete files on Windows 10/11 is essential to protect sensitive information for unhazardous purposes. To do so, there are multiple ways one of which is using the Cipher tool. This approach ensures that the deleted data is erased beyond recovery. The mechanism used here is overwriting passes with random patterns. Find the steps given below:

• Firstly, press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. Next, type “cmd“. Then, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open Command Prompt as an administrator.

• Afterward, use the “cd” command to change directories. Navigate to the folder with the files you want to completely delete.
• Permanently erase using the Cipher command – Type “cipher /w:filename.txt“. Make sure to replace “filename.txt” with the actual filename. Using the code, the file data is overwritten by random values, making recovery impossible. ‘w‘ can be lowercase or uppercase (doesn’t matter).

Here, make sure to close all other applications while running the CIPHER /w command.

#5: Permanently Delete Files in Windows 10/11 with PowerShell

Deleting files entirely using PowerShell can be a robust solution. This method utilizes PowerShell’s powerful scripting capabilities for data deletion. With this efficient approach, organizations can safeguard sensitive information maintaining their privacy and data regulations. Let’s explore the practical implementation of PowerShell commands.

• Open the PowerShell window – Press Windows key + R, type “powershell“, and press Enter.

• Navigate to the file location – Use the “Set-Location” command followed by the path to the folder containing the files (e.g., Set-Location “C:\Users\YourUsername\Documents”).

• Permanently delete using Remove-Item – Type “Remove-Item -Path ‘filename.txt’ -Recurse” (replace “filename.txt” with the actual filename and use the “-Recurse” parameter for folders).

#6: Built-in Disk Cleanup Utility to Permanently Delete Files

Disk Cleanup is an in-built application in the Windows 10/11 system. They are specifically designed to free up space on your hard drive. It is not only used for secure deletion but also for removing various types of unnecessary files that hold sensitive info. Here, are the steps explained:

• Open File Explorer
• Right-click on the drive you want to clean (usually C:)
• Select “Properties“

• In the General tab, click on “Disk Cleanup“

• If prompted, select “Clean up system files” for a more thorough cleanup

• Wait for the tool to calculate how much space you can save
• Check the boxes next to the file types you want to remove from the list of files to delete. These may include: -Temporary Internet Files, -Downloaded Program Files, -Recycle Bin, -Temporary Files, -Thumbnails
• Click “OK” to start the cleanup

• Confirm the deletion in the pop-up window

#7 Completely Delete Files on PC using SDelete (Microsoft Sysinternals)

Like other methods, this also revolves around using the SDelete command line to overwrite file data multiple times – making data recovery extremely difficult. It comes under the Microsoft Sysinternals suite – is an official Microsoft tool. Required steps:

• Download SDelete from the Microsoft Sysinternals website – “https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sdelete”

• Extract the downloaded zip file to a folder (e.g., C:\SDelete)

• Open Command Prompt as administrator

• Navigate to the SDelete directory (e.g., cd C:\SDelete)

To delete a file securely, use the command:

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

The -p 3 flag tells SDelete to overwrite the file 3 times

The -s flag ensures the file is securely overwritten

To delete a directory and its contents:

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

The -r flag makes the operation recursive

To clean free space on a drive:

sdelete -p 3 -c C:

The -c flag cleans free space

In the above code, change the file path with the actual file location.

Shortcomings in the Manual Techniques to Permanently Delete Large Files

As we know the importance of erasing essential files using the above methods. Now, let’s find the challenges in the easily accessible approaches:

• Most of the above-mentioned solutions don’t erase data, leaving a scope of data recovery unless it is completely overwritten.
• The CMD method – requires command-line knowledge, which could be technical for non-tech individuals.
• In the SDelete step, wiping files multiple times with random data could be time consuming – particularly for large files. It could also affect the system’s performance.
• The Remove-Item command does not overwrite data, making it recoverable.

How to Permanently Delete Files on PC Windows 10 & 11 using Absolute Tech?

Keeping in mind, the aforementioned ways to delete files, does not completely erase them. As a result, we suggest you the SysTools data wipe tool that can delete large files completely without leaving any traces of recovery.

This tool holds the potential to run on a wide range of devices from external hard drives to internal files. Now, use the tool to experience the latest wiping algorithm, leaving no space for digital conquest. Features that stand this tool out of competition:

• Permanently delete all data remnants with international standards.
• Military-grade software for wiping devices and drives.
• Erase caches, temporary files, recent data, and other traces.
• Ensure data destruction with a wiping report.
• Choose to add files or folders for complete data removal.
• Effective data sanitization methods for PC repurposing and disposal.
• Compliant with 20+ global standards like ISO, GDPR, HIPAA, etc.
• Wipe data from various storage devices, including HDD, PATA, SATA, and NVMe & M.2.

Final Words

In this write-up, we have tried to answer the query of “how to permanently delete files on Windows 10/11?” By using several methods such as Shift + Delete, File Explorer ribbon, CMD, Cipher, PowerShell, and other potential utilities. Each method holds unique potential and drawbacks. Thus, countering such limitations on every manual approach, we suggest the absolute tech discussed above. Now, you can easily eliminate the remnants of deletion in a few clicks.