Wiped files still recovered.

[ultrav5]

Hello. I'm at my wits end with CCleaner.  I have a lenovo laptop /windows 7 operating system and  wiped the the D and C drives to get rid of unwanted files. I used every pass method available and these files can still be recovered when I use Recuva deep scan.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong.  Are these files somehow protected from being wiped? I even disabled AVG to see if that was the problem.  Is there a setting on windows 7 preventing this?  Any help would be apperciated.

Thanks.

[mta]

What's the CC version, and Win7 version?

What sort of wipe and method have you used?

I take it C:\ is your Windows drive, how are you wiping that while Windows is running?

 

When you then Recuva the files, can they actually be opened or are you just seeing the result of Recuva being able to only list the files it has found?

[ultrav5]

It's CC v 4.05.4250 on windows 7 home premium. I have attempted using all the pass methods, even the 35 pass.

When I Recuva the files on deep scan the files can be restored.  I tried it on some pictures files and were able to be restored.  When I highlight the picture it says 'not deleted' .I am running CC and Recuva from the desktop. 

[mta]

that's a pretty old CC version, current one is v4.10.4570

not that I recall them changing the wipe process so there should be no difference in regard to your problem - but give it a shot.

 

so you say the files were able to be restored, but were they in a good enough state to be opened?

 

I'm still confused on what your process is.  do you have a desktop PC and use it to wipe another drive you took out from some other unit?

[Augeas]

When I highlight the picture it says 'not deleted'

 

What CC method are you running, Wipe Free Space from Options/Settings, or Drive Wiper?

 

Is this message coming from the c drive?

 

You say that you are running CC to 'get rid of unwanted files'. CC WFS will not do this, it wipes deleted files. Drive Wiper will do this on non-system drives, otherwise it acts as WFS does.

 

The not deleted message suggests that you have 'Scan for Non-Deleted Files' checked in Options/Actions (in Advanced Mode).

[ultrav5]

that's a pretty old CC version, current one is v4.10.4570

not that I recall them changing the wipe process so there should be no difference in regard to your problem - but give it a shot.

 

so you say the files were able to be restored, but were they in a good enough state to be opened?

 

I'm still confused on what your process is.  do you have a desktop PC and use it to wipe another drive you took out from some other un

 

Thanks for responding.

I have a laptop and the files I wanted permanatley wiped were on the c drive, I have tried WFS CC and drive wipe on both c and d drives.  I even used all of the pass methods (1/3,7,35).  After CC I do a deep scan using Recuva.  When the results show up the files appear, in this case thumbnails of pictures I thought were wiped.  So when I highlight a picture the status says it's not deleted which is odd because I emptied them from my recycle bin.  The option to overwrite highlighed or checked is  greyed out. A couple questions arise from this.  If the files were deleted from my recycle bin why does Recuva say they were not deleted and why did the drive wipe  not work.  If these files are not deleted then where are they hiding?  

[mta]

I think you have a few issues; in how you run CC and the wiping side of it, what you class as deleted and what shape Recuva finds the files.

 

Your first issue is you are running a drive wipe while actually having that drive in use.  It's your C:\ drive and I take it that is where Windows is.

It's just not going to happen.

 

Next, what you class as deleted is NOT deleted.  Basically NOTHING EVER is deleted.  The space the file uses is simply flagged for re-use at the next write request from the OS.  This is the fundamental reason that file recovery programs can do what they do.

 

And lastly, although Recuva has 'recovered' some files, and in some you can see the thumbnail, can you actually open the file and prove it is really resurrected.  I think you will find it is corrupted.

 

If you want to wipe the whole drive either remove the unit and do it from another PC or boot the laptop from a CD or USB stick and low-level format the laptop's C:\ drive.

[Augeas]

So when I highlight a picture the status says it's not deleted which is odd because I emptied them from my recycle bin.  The option to overwrite highlighed or checked is  greyed out.

 

 

The not deleted message suggests that you have 'Scan for Non-Deleted Files' checked in Options/Actions (in Advanced Mode).