To delete files from a hard disk drive (HDD), you can follow these general steps:
- Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
- On Windows, you can press Win + E to open File Explorer.
- On Mac, you can click on the Finder icon in the dock.
- Navigate to the location of the files you want to delete.
- Use the left sidebar or browse through folders to find the files.
- Select the files you want to delete.
- Click on a file to select it. To select multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key (Cmd key on Mac) while clicking on each file.
- Delete the selected files.
- On Windows, you can press the Delete key on your keyboard or right-click and select “Delete” from the context menu.
- On Mac, you can either press Cmd + Delete or right-click and choose “Move to Trash.”
- Empty the Recycle Bin or Trash (optional).
- Deleted files on Windows are typically moved to the Recycle Bin. To permanently delete them, empty the Recycle Bin.
- On Mac, deleted files are moved to Trash. You can empty the Trash to free up space on your hard drive.
- Confirm the deletion (if prompted).
- Some systems may ask you to confirm the deletion of files, especially if they are system files or located in protected folders. Follow the prompts as necessary.
It’s important to note that deleting files from an HDD will free up space on the drive, but the deleted files can potentially be recovered using specialized software until the disk space they occupied is overwritten with new data. If you want to ensure that the files are unrecoverable, you may need to use data wiping or secure deletion methods.