Unused disk space scan deleted core Win 7 system files

[skeine]

I downloaded and installed the latest version of Eraser (6.0.8.2273) on my Win 7 laptop and ran a task configured as follows: data set "Unused disk space" on my system drive (c with "erase cluster tips" enabled. It finished wth some info and error messages, samples below. After a reboot the OS failed to start and had to be repaired. The files it tried to delete in the messages below are core system files; it shouldn't have tried to delete them seeing as how it was just a unused disk space task. Did I configure the task incorrectly somehow? Please advise.

C:\pagefile.sys did not have its cluster tips erased because of the following error: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070020)
C:\pagefile.sys did not have its cluster tips erased because of the following error: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070020)
Files in C:\Documents and Settings did not have their cluster tips erased because it is a hard link or a symbolic link.
C:\bootmgr did not have its cluster tips erased because you do not have the required permissions to erase the file cluster tips.

 

[DavidHB]

An unused space erase does not delete existing files; it actually works by adding new files until the drive is full, then deleting those files only. The most likely cause of your problem is some kind of issue with the file system. I suggest that you run a disk check.

The error messages you referred to are normal; in its current form, Eraser issues 'error' messages a bit too readily. Windows does not allow any form of access to protected system files, which is another reason why Eraser did not remove them in your case.

David