Is there any way to clean references to any deleted files from the MFT?
I use CCleaner to wipe the HD periodically, Defraggler to defrag the drive and then use Recuva to see what might be left.
I apologize if this topic has already been covered.
I am fairly new to this topic.
Thank you.
No there isn't. Yes, the topic has been covered before, there may well be some in-depth stuff somewhere. Essentially you can create enough zero-length files with harmless filenames to use up the slots in the MFT that hold the deleted file info, then delete them, and run Recuva with Show Zero Length Files unticked. You can do it yourself which is probably better than some overwrite-everything application. Pointless exercise though, in my opinion.