How Computers Work · Course 4
Files & Storage Deep Dive
How drives store, delete and truly erase your files.
- 1File Systems9 min · Meet the hidden index that tells your computer where every file lives.
- 2Hard Drives vs SSDs10 min · Spinning discs or flash chips: why the kind of drive changes everything.
- 3What Delete Really Does on a Drive10 min · Why deleted files can linger on a hard drive, and what makes them unreadable.
- 4Formatting, Encryption and Wiping11 min · Format a drive, guard your recovery key and wipe a computer before you sell it.
- 5Challenge: Dad's Old Desktop12 min · Help Dad wipe his old hard drive desktop before he sells it online.
Hands-on
Do it on the practice computer
Lessons have labs you can try in your browser, plus questions that earn points toward the Disk Detective badge.
Start lesson 1