Does moving data off a hard drive remove it completely

[gmwal]

Hello.

I was wondering... If I move my video, music, my documents folders etc. from my boot drive (ie C drive) to say a storage drive (D Drive), is the data completely removed from the boot drive or is it still there waiting to be erased next time a new file is written to it?

 

[richc46]

Welcome
Anything that is on the hard drive remains there, its access is blocked. To completly remove software like eraser can be used.
http://eraser.heidi.ie/
or possibly Dban
http://www.dban.org/download
If you use the computer and the space where the original document is located gets overwritten a few times, the original is also delted, but not as good as using the above two softwares.

 

[gmwal]

Will initiating a system image also do the trick or will the data still be there?

 

[karlsnooks]

yes. The data is still there.

To remove all traces using an official secure delete program:
SDelete

 

[richc46]

Will initiating a system image also do the trick or will the data still be there?

The only way to truly remove is using one of the suggested software.
Most suggest Dban, but eraser is on the Seven free list.
http://www.sevenforums.com/software/92-free-great-programs-windows-7-a.html

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

If you need to over-write (remove) data have a look through the methods outlined in this tutorial linked below.

Secure Erase / Wipe : Definition and Methods

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