So when you delete a file, it goes to the Recycle Bin, and when you empty the Recycle Bin the computer just forgets where it put it and marks that space OK for storing new files. But when a program/application deletes a file (for example a temporary file to make the program work), what happens to it? Does it get completely wiped or does it go to the same place as a file emptied from the Recycle Bin? Thanks in advance for any help.

Generally speaking temporary files created by applications do not go to the recycle bin, they are just deleted. If temp files were sent to the recycle bin then the bin would fill up pretty fact with files that were of no use. The only difference between sending a files to the recycle bin and deleting it completely is the way the directory entry is updated. In neither case is that data actually touched. In both case it is just a metter of changing a few bytes on the hard disk. In the case of a file going to the Recycle Bin the information in the directory is just changed to reflect its new location. In the case of a complete delete the directry entry is marked as free and the space the file uses is marked as available and it remains intact until something else comes along and overwrites it. Stuart

OK, thank you very much for the quick reply.