Deleting Unwanted Files

Ever wonder what happens when you empty your recycle bin?   Keep reading…………………

I have been reading up on wiping the free space ( check the last box in the Advanced section) vs defragging the free space (using the program help info)

On the Options Tab/Settings you can choose how secure you want the deletion to be – the more secure the slower it is. This does nothing to improve performance, it just improves security.

Wipe free space will overwrite free space so that the data is unrecoverable since shift-del or deleting via the Recycle Bin only removes the reference to the data but the data will still persist until overwritten. Defrag free space just tries to rearrange the hard drive so you just have one big block of free space. Since you're not changing any performance parameters the two should not have any bearing on each other.

Does using CCleaner 's "wipe free space" have any cause/effect on later running Defraggler to optimize your drive ? Any relationship between Defraggler Advanced 'Defrag Free Space' and/or 'Defrag Free Space/Allow fragmentation' and CCleaner Wipe Free Space option ?
Docs:
"By defragmenting the free space on your hard drive, you will improve Windows' performance when writing new files. You'll also help prevent new files from being fragmented. To defragment the free space on your hard drive:

• In the Drive section at the top of the Defraggler window, right-click the drive to defragment, and then click Advanced.
• Click Defrag Freespace or Defrag Freespace (Allow fragmentation).

If you select Defrag Free Space, Defraggler will fill up freespace chunks with whole files only. If you select Defrag Free Space (Allow fragmentation), Defraggler will use file fragments to fill up freespace. You can also tell Defraggler not to move large files around while it's defragmenting free space. For more details, see this topic. Which option should you use? If you want your freespace to be as defragmented as possible, choose Defrag Free Space (Allow fragmentation). If you want to reduce the amount of fragmentation in your current files, choose Defrag Free Space."

I use a free program Eraser to erase confidential files. I choose the government standard of overwriting Guttmann 35 times. The file is still there after emptying the recycle bin, but overwritten many times. http://download.cnet.com/Eraser/3000-2092_4-10231813.html    When you right click to delete one or several files, Eraser will be a choice.  Many files are not worth this extra trouble.

There is a lot if info in the web……this link has some good info

http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2002/Erasing_Deleted_Files.asp