Developed by Mark Russinovich, SDelete is a "secure delete" application. It doesn’t just rename or move a file to the Recycle Bin; it overwrites the file’s on-disk data using the bit-clearing standard. It also cleans the "slack space" (the unused space at the end of a file cluster) and can wipe the free space of an entire drive. Getting Started
Do you have a (like an SSD or a virtual disk) you're looking to wipe, or are you automating this with a batch script ?
Free space cleaned on C:
This is the most common use case. It overwrites the file content and then deletes the file.
On traditional Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), SDelete is incredibly effective. However, on , things are more complex due to "Wear Leveling." The SSD controller might move data around to different cells, meaning SDelete might overwrite a different physical location than where the original data resides. For SSDs, a "Secure Erase" via the manufacturer's utility is often better for a full-drive wipe. The "SDelete64" vs "SDelete" sdelete example
Here’s a clear, practical example of using (Microsoft Sysinternals) to securely delete files/folders or wipe free space.
Disclaimer: SDelete is a powerful data destruction tool. Use it responsibly. Ensure you have backups of critical data before performing secure deletion. Developed by Mark Russinovich, SDelete is a "secure
By default, SDelete performs a single overwrite pass. For higher security (compliance with standards like DoD 5220.22-M), you can specify the number of passes.