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How to erase disk free space on a hard drive
using ShredIt
Mac OS 7 Hard Drive Cleaner
Use this procedure to erase the disk free space on a hard drive.
- Disk free space is the area on your hard drive containing de-allocated memory. This is where all the data you have previously deleted is stored, until it is overwritten by something else.
- To shred the data you have previously deleted, you need to shred disk free space. If you have a lot of disk free space or a slow hard drive, shredding free space can take a while.
- Once you have shredded the data you have previously deleted, all your confidential trash has been securely disposed of. After that, to ensure that all future confidential documents are securely deleted, drag them to ShredIt shredder, not to the Trash icon. (See: How to shred a file) If you accidentally put a confidential document into the trash, and empty the trash, then you need to shred the free space again to securely delete it.
- If you shred the free space on a disk by mistake, don't panic. Using this procedure will only shred your free space, not your data. We've made it easy to shred the free space of a disk and more difficult to shred the contents of a disk. This is intentional, so that you don't accidentally shred the contents of a disk (i.e. your data).
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Requirements
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Instructions
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To erase the free space on a disk using ShredIt for Mac OS 7:
Drag the hard drive icon onto the ShredIt Icon and drop it
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Notes
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- For more detailed information about ShredIt for Mac OS 7, refer to the
- Tutorials are available for other versions of ShredIt
- There's an important difference between the technical terms "delete" and "secure delete".
- The technical computer term "delete" refers to the type of computer function where the data is marked as deleted, but not really gone. Functions such as dragging a file to the trash/recycle bin and then emptying it marks the data as deleted so the space can be used again, but the data itself remains on the hard drive and recoverable until it is overwritten by something else. On a hard drive with lots of free space, this could take months or even years.
- On the other hand, the technical term "secure delete" refers to the type of computer function where the data is overwritten by other characters so the data can't be recovered. "Secure Delete" is also referred to as "wipe", "erase" and "shred". Computer software that performs this type of function is often called a "file shredder" a "data shredder" or "secure delete utility".
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