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Re: How to erase files that I've already emptied from recy b the easiest way to do this is to do a freespace wipe. Any file deleted from the recycle bin isn't actually deleted, merely marked by Windows as deleted (the file attributes are changed, this means Windows sees the space the file...

for deleting and unused disk space, yes. the other main ones are (from memory) the password protection and the ability to shut down Windows after a free space wipe.

yeah, in that order those would be the best options in terms of security. If the OS cannot be wiped and reinstalled, option 2 is the more preferable option that option 3. I believe that is the option (option 2) used by a local project in my area that redistributes donated computers.

it is, yeah. Sorry for not making that clear! I think PRNG stands for Pseudo Random Number Generator. I thought a bit about this after posting - I've not used Windows 98 for a long time and can't remember - does W98 have seperate user profiles, like Windows XP? If it did, it would be so much...

a freespace wipe is the same as erasing unused space, it's just another way of describing the same thing. So long as you are satisfied that there is no personally identifiable data left on the computer then it's OK. Obviously, I don't know where you live but in the UK (where I live) the...

are you sure it's 5.6? Open the program, click on Help and check the version from there (About Eraser). My version of eraser (5.7) contains the option to "uninstall Eraser 5.6", which is just a little error. It really means Eraser 5.7.

Re: Thanks there's a seperate forum for DBAn. Although DBAN is bundled with Eraser, it is in fact a seperate program. see http://www.snugserver.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=6 You could try asking in that forum, though recently there seems to have been almost no traffic in there. Having...

I did exactly the same as yourself, kept clicking "enter" and get the same file with slightly different file name. It turned out I only needed to save it the once (if I had wanted to save it: I didn't want to, I thought it was necessary!). That was with my computer with a floppy drive. This one...

Re: is? No. DBAN is just picking up on the errors and reporting this.

I've only used the beta version of 5.8, so I'm going off memory, but have you tried deselecting those two options? When I was using 5.8 I was able to prevent this message from appearing.

I once read an article on the internet that compared various cleaning / wipe programs, with the author creating and deleting files then running a forensic check with EnCase. The programs checked were Eraser, Window Washer, Evidence Eliminator and a couple of others I can't remember. Eraser...

why would you want to run Eraser in the background with a low prority? Do you want to use the computer at the same time?

how did you do that? I know that Eraser chooses to create smaller files, in order to make the program run better, but I'd be interested in how you did that.

those files are OK, they are created by the way Eraser works. Don't worry about them, they are there to help delete the data in free space. Eraser works by creating lots of temp files that are used to overwrite existing data. Perfectly normal!

it's not an error, it's meant to happen. It's a message to tell you that some files could not be wiped, but will be wiped at startup (before the OS locks the files). There is an option in 5.8 to disable this message / option, in General Preferences (I think). It also means that the said files...

being fair to the OP, spy1, not everyone is familiar with eraser or how it works (I agree that everyone should read the documentation though!), but some people do pick up eraser from other sources and perhaps don't realise what is happening to their computer. When I first used eraser I was...

to answer the original query - it's possible (and this is just an educated guess) that a certain process was launched by the file you are trying to delete, and that process is still running. I've found that rebooting and then erasing is the only way around this particular problem, presumably...

svchost.exe is unusual in that there is always more than one instance of it running on the computer. It isn't linked to a certain number of files, but rather the svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run DLL's - various services can be running under this generic name.

all the files that Eraser cannot touch for cluster tips area wiping are files locked by the computer, and which are used by the computer in order to operate. You could do a run of Eraser, wiping the cluster tip areas only by running eraser in safe mode in the Administrator account: whilst...

if you want to delete every personal bit of data, then I'd suggest using DBAN, which is bundled with Eraser. Use it with caution though, it deletes EVERYTHING on the hard drive, including the operating system. I'd only use this option if you have the original Windows XP disk to reinstall the OS...