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vo0do0child t1_iy4c4a8 wrote

Reply to comment by nmxt in eli5 How is computer memory deleted? by unlikemike123

Why are the memory addresses abandoned rather than covered over with 0’s?

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sauprankul t1_iy4fw41 wrote

To save time. Hard disk writes take forever, and the disk has better things to do than overwrite deleted data.

SSD overwrites would increase wear on the flash. You have a limited number of writes before the flash starts becoming unstable.

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nmxt t1_iy4fx21 wrote

Because writing them over with zeroes or anything takes considerable time. Basically deleting files would then be as slow as copying them. That doesn’t apply to modern SSDs though, they do reset the memory taken up by deleted files.

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vo0do0child t1_iy4h9ef wrote

Interesting, thanks. You’d think the OS would provide the user with the option to do a “deep delete.”

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Brayzure t1_iy4jx8i wrote

There's a built-in function to overwrite your "empty" hard drive space with random data. Problem is it takes forever (and isn't easily accessible). There's a reason why the option isn't available to the average user.

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Foolfog t1_iy4g7in wrote

Because specifically changing it rather than just 'forgetting' about it would be just unnecessary extra work, unless you aim for extra safety

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