Data Destroyer
Section 10: Purging a disk (cleaning a hard drive)

Purging (a.k.a. cleaning or wiping) a disk consists of purging the free space plus purging all files in all folders, except optionally for the top-level files and optionally files in selected top-level folders. (Top-level files and top-level folders are those in the root directory, e.g., C:\.)

If the disk to be purged has a folder called 'System Volume Information' (it may be hidden) then it is recommended to turn off 'System Restore' for that disk (do this via My Computer | Properties | System Restore). This will cause all files in that folder to be deleted. (For information about this folder see here.)

Clicking on the Purge disk button in Data Destroyer leads you through a process which is illustrated by the following screenshots:

If the purge speed for the selected disk drive has not been tested then the following appears:

When the purge speed has been ascertained the purge time is estimated:

As noted at Testing purge speed, the estimate of the time required to purge the disk is not precise. The actual time could be significantly smaller or larger.

A Yes leads to the folder selection window:

This means: purge all files in all top-level folders on Drive D (and in all their subfolders) except for the files in the folder Program files.

If a folder is shown as "Permission denied" then it should be excluded from the purge (this is the default setting).

After clicking on the Accept button you are asked:

Answer Yes only if you wish to leave the program running unattended (say, overnight) during a long purge operation.

After writing the dummy file the program proceeds to purge it (and thus the free space).

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