How do I permanently delete files, photos from sd card on Windows PC?

[GavinBrown]

I recently wanted to permanently delete some files and photos on SD card, but after deleting them directly, I found that they could still be recovered through some data recovery software. I would like to ask, is there any way to completely clear these files on the computer to ensure that they cannot be recovered? Has anyone tried some effective tools or methods that you can recommend? Thank you!

[#2]

@GavinBrown Make a backup of important data before deleting the files. After that, right click on the SD card on a Windows PC. From the pop-up menu, choose the Format menu to delete files from SD card. This is the most simple way to ease a SD card.

[#3 · Accepted solution]

When files are deleted from an SD card, they aren't immediately erased; instead, the space they occupy is marked as available for new data. Until that space is overwritten, it's possible to recover the deleted files using specialized software.

To permanently delete files from SD card, you have to first use the large movies files to eat up the storage one more times. This will overwrite all existing data and make them unrecoverable. You can also do with a data erasing software.

[#4]

@GavinBrown 

Formatting an SD card is actually the most common way to delete files. I have used it several times before. I just right-clicked the drive letter of the SD card on my computer and selected "Format". The process was very quick and all the files seemed to be deleted. But later I tested it with recovery software and it turned out that I was able to recover some photos and files! This made me realize that ordinary formatting is not thorough and there is still a chance that the data can be recovered.

So if you want to permanently delete photos from sd card, I don't recommend ordinary formatting. It is safer to use more professional tools to erase data from sd card.

[#5]

@GavinBrown 

A full format is more thorough than a quick format. I have used this method before. Find the SD card in Disk Management, right-click and select "Format", and then cancel the "Quick Format" option. The whole process will take longer because the system will clean up each sector, and it will appear that all the files have been deleted.

However, even so, some data recovery tools can still recover some files, especially some key pictures or documents. So although a full format is better than a quick format, it is still not safe to completely delete photos or files from sd card, You'd better ask professional IT personnel to solve this problem.

[#6]

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@JeffreyMiller wrote:

Formatting an SD card is actually the most common way to delete files. I have used it several times before. I just right-clicked the drive letter of the SD card on my computer and selected "Format". The process was very quick and all the files seemed to be deleted. But later I tested it with recovery software and it turned out that I was able to recover some photos and files! This made me realize that ordinary formatting is not thorough and there is still a chance that the data can be recovered.

So if you want to permanently delete photos from sd card, I don't recommend ordinary formatting. It is safer to use more professional tools to erase data from sd card.

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This answer makes sense. I have also heard that data can still be recovered after normal formatting. Have you tried those professional erasing tools? How effective are they? For example, can tools like data Eraser really completely erase photos from SD card on my computer? If you have used them, can you share your experience?

[#7]

@GavinBrown 

You can manually put insignificant large files on the SD card to overwrite the data, which is also a feasible way to permanently delete file from SD card! These files will fill up the remaining space and format it again. I have tried this method. First, copy some insignificant, large-space files (such as movies, blank files, etc.) to the SD card until its remaining space is full. Then format it again. In this way, the original data is overwritten by these new files, and even if you use recovery tools, you can only recover those insignificant large files.

This method is relatively simple and does not require the installation of additional software. But it should be noted that the overwriting process may be time-consuming, especially when the SD card capacity is large, and it cannot 100% guarantee that all data will be completely overwritten. But for ordinary users, this method can indeed increase the thoroughness of data deletion and reduce the possibility of recovery.

[#8]

To permanently delete some files and photos on SD card. If you're feeling adventurous, you can use Command Prompt for a more manual method to delete files securely:

1. Open Command Prompt as an admin.
2. Type diskpart and press Enter.
3. Type list disk to see all drives and identify your SD card.
4. Type select disk X (replace X with the disk number of your SD card).
5. Type clean all - this will wipe everything off the card by overwriting it completely and is usually more effective than a regular format.

[#9]

@GavinBrown 

Using the command line method to completely wipe SD card is actually a good choice, especially if you don't want to rely on third-party tools. I have used the Diskpart command before, which is easy to use and more thorough than normal formatting.

The specific steps are as follows:

1. Open the Command Prompt (CMD): Type "cmd" in the Windows search bar, then right-click and select "Run as administrator".
2. Start Diskpart: Type diskpart in the command prompt and press Enter.
3. List all disks: Type list disk and press Enter. This will list all connected disks, including SD cards.
4. Select your SD card: Find the number corresponding to the SD card, type select disk X, replace X with the number of the SD card, and press Enter.
5. Clear data: Type the clean command and press Enter. This command will clear all partitions and data.
6. Recreate partitions and format: Type create partition primary to recreate the partitions, and then use format fs=fat32 quick to quickly format the SD card.

This command line method is much more thorough than normal formatting because it clears the partition table. After that, data recovery is almost impossible. I feel this method is quite safe and suitable for completely erase file on SD card.

[#10]

@GavinBrown 

In Windows' Disk Management tool, select the SD card and choose Complete Format (uncheck "Quick Format"). This method is more thorough than a quick format, but it is still possible to recover some data.

These methods are suitable for situations where you need to completely delete photos on SD card. You can choose the appropriate method based on your needs. If the data is particularly sensitive, third-party tools and professional erasure software will be more effective.

[#11]

@GavinBrown

 You can also use Powershell to perform SD card clearing operations. With the Clear-Disk command, you can erase all data and partitions from SD card:

Clear-Disk -Number X -RemoveData

Replace X with your SD card number. This method is similar to the Diskpart clean command.

[#12]

Do deleted files stay on SD card? Yes, deleted files often remain on an SD card even after they are "deleted."

When you delete a file from an SD card, the operating system doesn't immediately erase the data. Instead, it marks the space previously occupied by the file as available for new data to be written. The actual data remains intact until it is overwritten by new files. This means that, in many cases, it is possible to recover deleted files using specialized data recovery software, as long as the space hasn't been reused.

This is why a single deletion or formatting won't permanently deleted files or photos from SD card card. To completely erase an SD card, you have to overwrite the current data with random files at least one time. Overwritten data is much more hard to be recovered!

[#13]

I don't like using the command line to permanently delete some files and photos on SD card, there's no fancy interface or prompts guiding you through the process. It's just you, your terminal, and your faith that you typed the right command. So if you're not super tech-savvy, it can be a little nerve-wracking.

Lastly, if you have a bunch of different things on your SD card, like music, documents, and photos, and just want to delete some files instead of formatting the whole card, the Diskpart wipe is overkill. You'll lose everything, and that bites if you just wanted to do a little spring cleaning.

[#14]

Data erasing software works by overwriting the existing data on a storage device, such as an SD card, with new information. This will make the original data unrecoverable. Simply deleting files or formatting the SD card doesn't completely erase the data; it only marks the space as available for new data, which can often be recovered with specialized tools. Data erasing software ensures that the data is permanently destroyed by writing over it multiple times with random or predetermined patterns of data.

When you use data erasing software to permanently delete photos from SD card the software typically offers several options:

Single Overwrite: The software writes over the entire SD card with random data or zeros in a single pass. This method is faster but may not be sufficient for highly sensitive data.

Multiple Overwrite: This method involves overwriting the data multiple times (e.g., three, seven, or more passes) with random patterns, zeros, and ones. This process takes longer but provides a higher level of security, making data recovery extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Advanced Algorithms: Some software uses advanced algorithms like the Department of Defense (DoD) 5220.22-M standard, which specifies a series of passes with different patterns to ensure data is thoroughly wiped.