Can Not Secure Delete

Recuva
1

I was using an open source file deletion program called Eraser on the empty areas of a drive and then using Recuva to see if any files were left. While many seemed to be overwritten, other complete recoverable files remained. That's when I noticed that Recuva had a delete option.

I'm using Recuva v1.29.429 and I can't get the secure delete option to work. I tried several overwrite methods in options... but I can't get the delete options to work when using the right click on the file page. They are grayed out.

I can't find anything in the Help section. Any ideas?

Thanks!

2

The current version of Recuva is 1.37.488, yours is 8 versions old. Download and install from hippo and see if that works better.

Also, File Shredder is much better than Eraser.

3

Thanks for responding.

I thought it was the latest version but perhaps I installed the latest one on my old PC.

But I installed the newest version just now and the delete options are still grayed out. I can't find an "enable delete" button anywhere... only a place to set the number of overwrites.

4

OK, I think I know what the problem is. I had SCAN FOR NON-DELETED FILES set in options. This is why I was puzzeled when after I did the scrub of empty spaces, Recuva was still picking up intact files. It's because they weren't actually deleted. Recuva must only give the secure delete option for files that have been deleted via Windows delete function.

Once that option is unchecked, the files that did turn up in a Recuva scan were not recoverable... and the secure delete option was available.

5

Also, File Shredder is much better than Eraser.

Thanks for this suggestion. I don't know which is better but in trying both out on one of my external drives I noticed Eraser really seemed to be thrashing my drive compared to Shredder.