How Can I Delete Lost Clusters In Windows Xp?

I ran "PC Inspector File Recovery" and it's showing me that I have thousands of lost clusters. How can I delete all of these? Within "PC Inspector File Recovery" I can save these but I don't see a way to delete them. I've run Norton Disk Doctor with "fix errors" toggled but that doesn't delete them. Thank you, John

xp has a good utility built in. double click my computer. right click on local disk C: select properties>tools>error checking>check now>checkmark both options>start shelf life

shelf life, When I try that it tells me that it needs exclusive access, so it schedules a check for when I restart. After it runs after restarting I am still seeing lost clusters using PC Inspector File Recovery. John

hi jkingqm,

iam not sure what PC Inspector File Recovery does. what i posted was for routine hard drive maint. not for attempting to recover lost data off of a hard drive if thats what you are trying to do. with todays huge hard drives i dont think thousands of lost cluster would be a problem.

see link:
http://www.indiana.edu/~sakaikb/help.cgi?d…&docid=aibn

shelf life, PC Inspector File Recovery is a free utility that allows you to recover deleted files. It also allows you to recover lost files. In my case don't want to recover lost files, I want to delete them for security/privacy reasons. It is showing I have thousands of lost files of type .DOC, .XLS, etc. Since I do financial work on my PC these lost files could contain financial information, so I don't want them sitting around on my PC. Norton Disk Doctor and CHKDSK is not getting rid of them. Any ideas? Thanks again, John

There are several programs that can be used to securely delete/erase/purge files such that it becomes impossible to retrieve the data information.

One that I have used successfully is Directory Snoop
Here's a link to the FREE version of Directory Snoop:
http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Utiliti…p_Download.html

For some purposes of clearing Hard Drives and securing sensitive customer files from being discovered when a machine or drive is being disposed of, I have used the purchased version ($39.00 US) very successfully.

I have no interest in or connection to Directory Snoop.
I am aware of other similar free programs, but have only used Directory Snoop with success and safety.

You will want to
Erase - Data
Purge - Erased Files

Erase - Empty Space

(the supposedly Empty Space is presently unassigned space on your Hard Drive where files may have previously resided, but where Windows has already removed the file addressing tags. (this is where the supposedly "Lost files" that your PC Inspector File Recovery Program is identifying)

Program Utilities like Directory Snoop generally offer various "levels" of secure erasing/purging.
One pass erase
3 pass erase
7 pass erase
35 pass erase

(the 7 pass erase is generally way more secure than you'll ever need)

I think this is the kind of utility and function you are looking for.

Give Directory Snoop a try, and then try to find the "lost files" via PC Inspector utility.
I think you will be pleased to discover that various "recovery" utilities will no longer be able to detect erased files on your hard drive.

Keep us posted with your progress.

Best Regards

Doug, I've used Wipe Info to wipe free space in Norton Utilities but still have lost clusters. Is Directory Snoop doing the same thing, or does it have capabilities to delete lost clusters? Thanks, John

I just downloaded the free version of Directory Snoop. It's showing a file FILE0000.CHK. When I try to purge it it says that only deleted files can be purged, so now I'm trying to delete it. In XP I do a search (including hidden and system files) for *.CHK but it's not finding it. How can I find it in order to delete it?

In XP I do a search (including hidden and system files) for *.CHK but it's not finding it. How can I find it in order to delete it?

I'm also searching in subfolders.

When I run CCleaner I have Chkdsk File Fragments checked so it should be deleting those. I wonder why Directory Snoop is showing C:\found.000\file000.chk. I wonder if this is related to PC Inspector File Recovery Program finding thousands of lost clusters. Now I'm trying to remove file000.chk to see but I'm stuck. Am I on the right track? I've been googling on ways to do this but am stuck. Thanks for your help.

It's showing a file FILE0000.CHK.
When I try to purge it it says that only deleted files can be purged, so now I'm trying to delete it.
In XP I do a search (including hidden and system files) for *.CHK but it's not finding it.
How can I find it in order to delete it?

Use the Directory Snoop "Erase" function to Delete any files you wish to remove.
You can set the level of security for Erase to 1, 3, 7, 35 as I mentioned before.
Three (3) will probably be OK for you in most cases, unless the IRS is doing a forensic investigation on your machine.

If you are worried about intensive physical examining/auditing/investigating, use Seven (7)

EDIT: Be "very" careful, what you Erase……………… because it "will" be erased.

In my free trial of Directory Snoop 5.03 (NTFS Module) I do not see Erase. I see Undelete, Search, Purge, and Wipe.

Wipe. <– Select this item. if you are provided options for 1, 3, 7 passes, then Wipe is the one I'm referring to. I don't have DirSnoop on this machine, but I'm booting up a machine that does, so I can check specifically for you. It's an older PIII running Windows 2000 and takes about 4 1/2 minutes to boot, so please be patient.

to confirm…. Select the files to be removed - Press Wipe - File Data - *Select the Wipe Method (1,3,7 passes) - OK The function you want to use in Directory Snoop for "deleting files" is labeled "Wipe" Wipe probably has a black skull and crossbones Icon (at least that's what it has on the paid version) After Wiping the file, you will still "see" that a location remains where the file had been. Sooooo…. Next, after Wiping, …. Use the Purge Function. Voila….. Ain't no more file….. Ain't no tracks to follow trying to find were the Erased/deleted/Wiped file used to be. Purge is really handy. Remember that if you use DirSnoop to Wipe a file………….. you'd better be sure you want to Wipe it, cause it's gonna be gone and not retrievable. Please notice that the Wipe Function also has the Option to Wipe - *Free Drive Space. This runs a low-level Wipe of 10101010101010 on the areas of your hard drive that are presently not being used by anything, even if some of the area had at one time be used for storage or some random temporary file function of the Operating System. ( you will receive a "Caution" that your Hard Drive is "Out of Space" because during the read/write of all those 101010101010 entries, DirSnoop will have "filled up" your entire HD. Of course, DirSnoop also intends to Delete the 1010101 allocation it created once the process is complete, so that your Free Space will be restored clean as a whistle for future use. Note: Wiping - Free Drive Space is going to take a long time, since there is probably so much of it (25 - 50% of your HD probably) So run Wipe - Empty Space - during an "overnight session" or some other time when access to the machine is not required.

When I try to wipe file000.chk it tells me I cannot wipe a system file.