Does Acronis restore clean HDD

SIW2 said:

All imaging apps will delete the restore target partition, then recreate it.

Except for the part overwritten by the image itself -data will still be there - you all know it is possible to recover data after partition deletion.

I don't know if it is possible for malware to resurrect itself from that situation - I doubt it.

I too have doubts, but also fears ! !

I had full understanding of the way that a file on a floppy disc would be read.
The directory would link the name to the first sector number and track number, and each sector had an overhead of checksum etc. and a link to the next sector in the file.

I know that NTFS is a bit different, and we have extra complications of MFT and MBR and Partition Tables, but I assume that a deleted file can be recovered and the sectors accessed in the correct sequence, so deduce the individual sectors still have the overhead designating which track and sector is the next one.
I also assume that even though the MFT etc may be blissfully unaware of the deleted files, if you start reading a file from the initial sector you will automatically read all the other sectors of that original file, and if you can read you can also execute.

Happy memories of a simpler time in the DOS era when Debug.exe ruled supreme. and you could create a program using HEX characters and invoke G with a Hex address at which to commence execution.