How to Permanently Delete Files from Computer

A lot of people have a lot of old stuff lying on their computer. They don't really touch it until the moment, when the computer exclaims that the drive is full. And then just when they were downloading the latest movie, they now have to go identifying and deleting files that they don't really need and clear up some space.

Permanently Delete Files

So if you want some space in your computer for some new stuff, you basically have two options, the first is to get a new external hard drive to which you can transfer some of the new data, and in the process keeping the old data intact. A lot of people feel that their old data might come to some use later and hence prefer not to delete it. In that case, using an external hard drive to store the new data or part of the data which you won't use too often makes a lot of sense.

The other option is to permanently clear up the space in the hard drive. This helps clear up the space once and for all and helps you save new files that you want.

Step #1: Identify the Files to be Deleted
Quite frankly, I believe that identifying the files before deleting them is an important step one needs to take. This is because if you're going to permanently delete files from computer, you need to be very sure that you will never need these files ever again. If you simply delete the files without giving it a second thought, there are chances that you will delete files that you might need in the future. So first identify all the files you want to delete.

Step #2: Organize them in One Folder
Now this step is quite unnecessary, but organized that I am, I feel that all the files you want to delete are better stored in one folder before deleting them. Why? Because this way you will definitely delete all the files you want to delete and will not miss out on deleting one or two of the files. So cut and paste the files and folders you want to delete into a new 'To Be Deleted' folder.

Step #3: Send to Recycle Bin
The next step is to right-click the computer mouse on the 'To Be Deleted' folder. You will see several options there. Scroll down to the 'delete' option and click. Windows will ask you once if you're sure you want to send this folder and its entire content to the Recycle Bin. Click on 'yes'. This will send the files to the Recycle Bin.

Step #4: Delete them Permanently
The Recycle Bin is the option that Windows gives its users to have a safety net before deleting the files. There are chances that you might delete a file which you did not want to delete. In this case, deleted files goes to the Recycle Bin which acts as a safety net before permanent deletion.

So to delete the files from the Recycle Bin, open the Recycle Bin from the Desktop. Now, go to the folder which you had deleted and right click on it. Then scroll down the options and click on 'delete'. Windows will then ask you if you're sure you want to permanently delete the files from the computer. Click on 'yes' and all the files you wanted to permanently delete from your computer are gone!

So this was a simple lesson on permanently deleting a file. So now if you want to delete those useless files off the computer, you can do so very easily.