How important is the wiping of cluster tips?

[Paranoia]

I have a question concering the wiping of cluster tips. How important is it after all?
I have to wipe the free disk of a harddisk, and don't have enough time before I have to give it back, so I can't delete the cluster tips.
All I want is to wipe one file, which has already been deleted normally in windows. If I wipe the harddisk now without the cluster tip function, how much of it can be recovered? Is it only the last cluster tip, of let's say 4kb? I don't really understand the problem with cluster tips, so any help that could explain it to me with regards to my example would be appreciated.

 

[Joel]

Cluster tips are the ends of files which have not been deleted.

In your case, since you've already deleted the file, erasing the unused disk space (even without cluster tips) should be what you're looking for. Unless you're so paranoid that you're worried the file you are trying so hard to get rid of somehow got trapped in system RAM and ended up in some other file's cluster tip. Not impossible, but seriously so unlikely I doubt most people would even bat an eyelid to consider that.

Unless, maybe if you're me. :mrgreen: