will this method clean deleted files off my hard drive for good?

[Joe]

If I delete files from my hard drive they still exist until
overwritten correct? If I fill my hard drive up with big files until
it is full will that overwrite the deleted files?

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

Hardly Excel stuff but here goes

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,22920-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html

 

[Jim Thomlinson]

File handling is done by your operating system. The important thing to
remember is that the OS does not delete files but rather it forgets that it
ever put a file there and considers that space to be free to use. If it uses
that space for something else then it overwrites the file that you had. If it
does not use that space then your file remains. Undelete programs scan the
free space on your hard drive looking for file headers and attempt to
recreate the files that have not been overwritten. Also note that the disk
does not discern between areas that have been previously uses and areas that
have not. Free space is free space and it will write anywhere in th efree
space. (This is a little bit simplified but you get the idea).