When data is deleted on a hard drive, only references to it are removed, which leaves the original data on unallocated disk space.

Question

When data is deleted on a hard drive, only references to it are removed, which leaves the original data on unallocated disk space.​

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When data is deleted from a hard drive, the actual data remains on the unallocated disk space until it is overwritten by new data. Only the references or pointers to access that data are removed, making it invisible to the operating system. This is why data recovery software can retrieve deleted files from a hard drive.

When Data Is Deleted on a Hard Drive, Only References