File is Resident in the MFT

[majax79]

Hello,

 

I'm looking to do some Spring cleaning on my PC. I was wondering what, in laymen terms if possible, "file is resident in the MFT" means?

 

I was just looking to permanently delete two files that Recuva found. I do plan on using CCleaner and/or Eraser to erase all the free space on my drive but I just wanted to know what the aforementioned statement meant.

 

Thanks.

[Andavari]

In CCleaner's "Options->Settings" when you wipe the free space you could also enable "Wipe MFT Free Space". Now rather this gets rid of those two files you want permanently banished I don't know, however you could run a check with Recuva after using CCleaner's wipe free space.

[Augeas]

File Resident in the MFT means that the entire data of the file is contained within the file record in the Master File Table. There is no separate cluster allocated for the file on the disk. It applies to files around 8-900 bytes in length or smaller. Records are never deleted from the MFT, therefore when the file is deleted the file data remains in the MFT record until that record is used by a new file allocation. Recuva cannot overwrite any data in the MFT.

 

I've never run Wipe MFT but I understand that it generates a number of new small files equivalent to the number of deleted file records in the MFT, and then deletes tham. In this way any information held in deleted MFT records is overwritten.

[majax79]

Thanks to Andavari and Augeas for your replies.