Also see: Meyer File/Directory Utilities (MFD) — Locate and other file finders that include a "delete found files" option — Directory Utils page for directory deletion utils.

Win9x NOTES: Unless explicitly noted in the description, do not assume support for Win9x LFNs.

Also see LDEL, one of the LFN Tools, supporting Win9x long file names (LFNs) under plain DOS.

TDEL — Sophisticated file deletion.

* * * *

[updated 2005-12-09]

This is a nicely enhanced DEL replacement. Tdel can modify your COMMAND.COM file to use it in place of DEL. Scripting capability. Type tdel /? to get a great series of help screens, which can be printed to the file TDEL.HLP (~14K).

Usage: TDEL name_1 [name_2] [name_3] [...name_n] [options (see below)]
~~~~~~

Basic Parameters:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/C  - Confirm deletion (each file)
/CA - Confirm if *.* specified
/I  - Show percents and files left
/P  - Pause after each full screen
/Q  - Quiet mode (no writing to screen)
/S  - Recurse sub-directories
/Y  - Assume YES on all queries

Filters:
~~~~~~~~
/A:  - File attributes to process
/DT: - Specify date range to process
/FN: - Specify files group to process
/NO: - Delete EXCEPT specified
/SZ: - Specify size range to process
/DAYS: - Del files by their age (days)

Advanced Parameters:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+     - Same as /S, but local
@file - Signifies script file
/D   - How to treat empty directories
/FS:  - Delete until x KB free space
/SF:  - Delete until x KB freed
/NF   - Process newer files first
/OF   - Process older files first
/YES  - Override the /NO: filter
/NEW  - Ignore SET and prior parameters
/W[n] - Wipe: Prevent from recovering
/TEST - Simulate command (no REAL del)
/LOG[:] - Report deleted file-names
/NoPRND - Disable the PARANOID feature
/NoSHOW - Don't show activated switches
/NoTREE - Do not update tree-info files
/INSTALL - Replace DEL command by TDel

Author: Tsahi Chitin (1999).

1999-08-11: v2.68.

Download tdel268.zip (97K).

Also see the author's UnWanted on this page, and the T-Utils Home Page.

DELEN — Enhanced delete with extended wildcards and Long File Name support.

* * * *

[updated 2006-03-14]

SYNTAX:
DELEN file... [/A:[-]AHRS] [/NPQSTXYZ] [/! | /E files... /I files...]
              [@[@]|%[name]] [/4[:dfile] [/[dts-ranges]]

  file...   Specifies one or more files to be deleted. Wildcards are allowed.
    /A:  Attribute select       /X   removes empty subdirectories
    /N   Nothing                /Y   answers "Yes" to all prompts
    /P   Prompt                 /Z   Zap: removes also protected files
    /Q   Quiet                  /E   Exclude following files
    /S   Subdirectories         /I   Include following files
    /T   Total                  /!   delete all except following files

   @[@]|%[name]   Reads parameters from a file or from an environment variable.
   /4[:dfile]     4DOS: Removes also 4DOS file descriptions from "dfile".
                  Default file name is "descript.ion".
   /[dts-ranges]  Specifies date, time or size range according to which
                  files are chosen. Format is: /[{type}{begin},{end}].

   This help summary is available with /? switch.

Authors: Vesa Kolhinen, Finland, and Jason Hood, Australia (2006).

Notes: This program is quite similar to WIPE (WIPEVK) by the same authors. DOS & Win32 versions in one package.

2006-01-08: v1.09. DOS & Win32 versions in one package. This program is quite similar to WIPE (WIPEVK) by the same authors.

Download delen109.zip (72K). Or: Download dwx.zip (231K), with DELEN + Wipe + XRD in one package. Each package includes both DOS16 and Win32 compilations of its programs.

Go to Jason Hood's Delen / Wipe / XRD page for more info and source.

More in these pages from Jason Hood.

MultiDelete (MDel) — Delete multiple specific or grouped files with one command. Exclusion supported.

unrated

[added 1999-08-19, updated 2005-09-24]

MDEL is a powerful program that allows you to quickly delete a lot of files. You can separate all of the files with commas or semicolons to be deleted; MDEL *.EXE,*.COM, will delete all .EXE and .COM files. You can also use a second optional parameter to exclude files from being deleted.

Author: Brian Friesen / Freezerware (1999).

2001-01-01: v3.0 for 16-bit DOS, v3.1 for Win32 console.

Also see MultiCopy & MultiMove.

More in these pages from Brian Friesen.

Also see TDEL, above.

Scorch — Effective file wiper, can wipe WIN swap file.

* * * * *

[added 1997, updated 2006-08-21]

• Multiple overwriting supported (1-7 times).
• Files are overwritten with garbage generated by a pseudo-random number generator; Scorch should wipe files on compressed disks more efficiently.
• Overwrites are performed from a 32 kilobyte buffer: 1) greatly speeds up overwriting; 2) clears unused space at the end of the last DOS cluster or allocation unit on the disk; 2) ensures that slack cluster space at the end of files is overwritten.
• "After each overwrite pass, a DOS "file commit" call is performed on the overwritten file, to make sure that the data is physically written to the disk, not just to a disk cache in memory."
• Scorch doesn't scramble file names like WIPEVK, but the "file is...truncated by a zero length write to the beginning of the file, the date and time are zeroed, and the file is renamed to a single character, prior to performing the standard DOS delete. This has the effect of setting the directory entry to point to cluster number zero, an invalid cluster, as the first file cluster, and the file length to zero. This will stop file undeleters from finding even the overwritten remains of the file."
• Includes special option to overwrite the Win3.1 swap file, but without corrupting its header (i.e., you won't get error messages next time you start Windows).
• Excellent documentation. Cooperates with the companion TSR utility RealDelete.

Scorch's command line syntax requires that you enclose the filespec in square brackets, e.g., scorch [myfile.txt]

Shareware status: "This program is shareware. Anyone may use it indefinitely on a single computer for their own private and personal use for free... If the software is used professionally, or in the course of a business (including the business of government, civil service, or security services), or for the purposes of commerce, then a registration fee must be paid."

Author: Iolo Davidson, UK (1999).

1999-12-23: v1.03. Last version, development has ended.

Download scorch.zip (17K).

Also see the author's Real Delete on this page.

WIPE (WIPEVK) — Wipes files and scrambles deleted file names; Win9x LFN compatible.

* * * *

[updated 2006-03-14]

Another good file wiper that also supports extended wildcards.

If no other instructions are given, file is written over once by null characters...Then the length of file is truncated to zero and it is renamed using random name. Renaming is repeated as many times as the wiping and a new random name is used each time. The date of the file is then changed to "null date", January 1 1980. Finally the file is removed from the directory.

WIPE file... [/A:[-]AHRS] [/NPQSTXYZ] [/! | /E files... /I files...]
             [/F] [/M[NQWGF] /V"xxx" /Rn /C"command";"off";"on"]
             [@[@]|%[name]] [/4[:dfile] [/[dts-ranges]]

  file...   Specifies one or more files to be wiped. Wildcards are allowed.
    /A:  Attribute select       /T   Total
    /C   Command off/on         /V   overwriting Values
    /F   wipe Free areas        /X   removes empty subdirectories
    /M   wiping Mode            /Y   answers "Yes" to all prompts
    /N   Nothing                /Z   Zap: removes also protected files
    /P   Prompt                 /E   Exclude following files
    /Q   Quiet                  /I   Include following files
    /R   Repeat                 /!   delete all except following files
    /S   Subdirectories

   @[@]|%[name]   Reads parameters from a file or from an environment variable.
   /4[:dfile]     4DOS: Removes also 4DOS file descriptions from "dfile".
                  Default file name is "descript.ion".
   /[dts-ranges]  Specifies date, time or size range according to which
                  files are chosen. Format is: /[{type}{begin},{end}].

   This help summary is available with /? switch.

Notes: This program is quite similar to the delete-only DELEN by the same authors. DOS & Win32 versions in one download package.

Authors: Vesa Kolhinen, Finland, and Jason Hood, Australia (2006).

2006-01-08: v2.09.

Download wipe209.zip (91K). Or: Download dwx.zip (231K), with DELEN + Wipe + XRD in one package. Each package includes both DOS16 and Win32 compilations of its programs.

Go to Jason Hood's Delen / Wipe / XRD page for more info and source.

More in these pages from Jason Hood.

Noise Wiper — Secure file wiper with progress indicator.

unrated

[added 2001-10-21, updated 2002-07-20]

• wipes file slack on most systems where the cluster size is a multiple of 512 bytes (most HDs) (because of 32KB writes)
• optional synchronimous wiping, quick-wipes file before going to main wipe loop, uses flux reversal wiping, commits file and resets disk to make sure that written data doesn't just end up in some cache
• file name scrambled (randomized name), date/time wiped, file's size set to 0 bytes and starting sector to 0.
• doesn't bother with prompts
• progress indicator
• won't be stopped by read-only/hidden/system attributes
• doesn't delete if aborted (you can additionally use your favorite wiper(s) on the file)
• informative docs.

Limitations:

...not very fast, supports only standard DOS wildcards, can't recurse through subdirectories, wipes only files, doesn't clean directory entries, can handle only 999 files, not the best when wiping on compressed drives...NoiseWiper DOESN'T support long file names (LFNs).

   Syntax:   NWIPER [-switch1] file(s) [/switch2] [...]

             1  -  generate a 1-letter-only filename
             F  -  use Fully random contents for writebuffer (slower)
             K  -  Keep the original date/time of file
             P  -  Prompt user to conform the wipe
             Q  -  Quiet mode (aka 'no output what so ever')
             T  -  use Timer for randomness (even if NoiseSYS is installed)
             V  -  Verbose output
             Y  -  sYnchronimous wiping of specified files
       NOERROR  -  NO messages on ERRORs

   NB!   Read-only/hidden/system attributes WON'T stop this wiper
         By default NO prompting about the wiping is made, so BE CAREFUL!

Author: CyberRax, Estonia (2002).

2002-07-20: v1.03.

Download nwipe103.zip (23K).

WIPE (2) — Wipes files and scrambles deleted file names.

Type WIPE without parameters to view instruction screen.

WIPE [drive:][path]filename.ext [/N] [/F] [/H] [/K]
        Each deletion must be confirmed unless you use /Noprompt
        Quick deletion is always used unless you specify /Full
        Filenames are shown on screen unless you specify /Hide
        All file names will be destroyed unless you use /Keep

Author: Jem E. Berkes / PC-tools.net, Canada (1996).

1996-06-11: v2.12. Free for personal use. For business use, registration fee = US$20. Later versions are free for trial use only, registration fee = US$15.

Download wipe-212.zip (5K).

More in these pages from Jem E. Berkes.

WIPEUTIL — Good collection of specialized file & disk wiping programs.

* * * * *

[added 1998-08-16, updated 2005-12-09]

WIPEUTIL contains a set of very small (~4K) programs that perform a variety of file and disk wiping functions. See docs for more in-depth descriptions of included programs.

BIGFILE.COM BIGFILE2.COM		Grab all free space on the current drive and save it to a specially named file. The user has the option of excluding / including a defined number of bytes of disk space.
ZAPEMPTY.COM		"...overwrites the free areas on the current drive."
ZAPFILE.COM		"Hinders undeleting of a file" by changing its size to 0, giving it a 1-character filename & more.
ZAPSWAP.COM		"To keep someone from finding information inside your WINDOWS [3.x] permanent swap file... scribbles throughout... without altering the size, disk position, or date/time..."
ZAPSWP95.COM		Same as ZAPSWAP.COM, but operates on the Win95 swapfile.
ZAPTIPS.COM		"writes through the slack space for all files in the current directory, displaying the file names as it goes along..."

Author: Mark Andreas, UK (1996).

1996-12-23 release.

Download wipeutil.zip (9K).

Real Delete — TSR wipe-delete utility with many options.

* * * * *

[added 1997, updated 2006-08-21]

Gleaned from the excellent documentation...

Real Delete...is a memory resident program that intercepts DOS file delete calls and overwrites the files before deleting them. It does this automatically, with no attention from the user other than installing the program in AUTOEXEC.BAT... [You can also use Real Delete] to expunge a single named file, rather than go memory resident. An unusual feature of Real Delete is that it overwrites the slack space at the end of the last file cluster as well as the file itself. This is not actually part of the file, but it often contains data left in a DOS "dirty buffer"...Each file overwrite is followed by a "file commit" call to make sure that the write happens on the disk, and not just in a disk cache. At the end of all overwrites, the file is truncated with an invalid first cluster number, so there is not even a pointer left to the original contents, and the file is finally marked as deleted in the directory.

• If you use Windows, Real Delete should be run before you run Windows.
• Not compatible with WFWG 3.11 when 32 bit file access is enabled.
• Win9x: Real Delete will not work under Windows 95.
• Real Delete is not compatible with "delete tracking" software of the type which stores deleted files for later recovery. If you wish to use such software, do not also use Real Delete.

/per or /personal - select personal level security
/com or /commercial - select commercial level security
/mil or /military - select military level security
/dewd or /dewd - select kool dewd level security
/garb or /garble - all overwrites to use pseudo-random garbage
/valid - keep valid cluster number etc. in directory
/silent - suppress initial screen messages
/unload - remove Real Delete from memory
/delonly - do not clear slack space on close or truncate
[c:\dir\filename] - delete single named file without going TSR

This program is shareware. Anyone may use it indefinitely on a single computer for their own private and personal use for free... If the software is used professionally, or in the course of a business (including the business of government, civil service, or security services), or for the purposes of commerce, then a registration fee must be paid.

Author: Iolo Davidson, UK (1999).

1999-04-05: v1.05. Development has ended.

Download realdeal.zip (18K).

Also see the author's Scorch on this page.

UnWanted — Delete temp, bak, zero-size files and directories. Configurable.

* * *

[added 1997, updated 2004-06-27]

UnWanted is an easy to use command line prog that helps you rid your disk of "unwanted" files: backup files, temp files, FILE_ID.DIZ's, zero-size files and directories, etc. Since I rarely use this type of program, I haven't compared UnWanted with the competition. When run, it looks in a config file for the file specs and types to delete – the user can edit the config file: Default sets are *.BAK, *.TMP, *.$$$, *.~??, FILE_ID.DIZ, DESCRIPT.ION.  It next searches a whole drive, asks for confirmation of deletions of each matching file, and performs the deletion. Color display with user options, Can create a log file of all actions.

Author: Tsahi Chitin (1999).

1999-03-14: v2.50b7Beta. Development has ended.

Download uw250b7.zip (26K).

Also see the author's TDEL on this page, and the T-Utils Home Page.

ELIM — Delete files that DEL can't (with illegal filename characters).

(If you have a recent version of MS-DOS, DELTREE should also remove files with illegal names).

The main purpose of ELIM is to enable the user to delete files which normal DOS DEL or ERASE cannot handle. For example, the user may run a poorly programmed utility which can create files which have a blank or other illegal character in the filename. DOS DEL will not be able to delete such a file. ELIM will solve the problem. ELIM does not prompt the user for confirmation, where a wildcard is used. Avoid using ELIM in preference to DOS DEL, unless you really know what you are doing.

Author: Bob Eyer (1999).

1990-11-24: v1.0.

Download elim10.zip (4K).

RME — Delete files/directories that DEL can't (with illegal filename characters).

(If you have a recent version of MS-DOS, DELTREE should also remove files with illegal names).

Similar to ELIM, this 1995 program is interactive and can delete directories.

The program will load and prompt the user for a filename. The name you enter can contain the usual DOS wildcards '*' and '?' for use when filtering certain file names. RME will then attempt to locate any matching file or directory names. It will then ask you whether you are sure you want to delete the file or directory. You can exit RME.EXE back to DOS at any time by pressing <Ctrl> + <Break>. RME will not remove directories which contain other files or subdirectories.

Author: Lee Griffiths, UK (1995).

1995-02-10: v1.0.

Download rme.zip (7.3K).

Also see: File Wizard and Connect, file managers that can display DEDIT-generated 4DOS descriptions; also IMD, a simple directory lister that can also display 4DOS descriptions.

Description Editor (DEDIT) — Create and maintain 4DOS compatible file descriptions.

* * * * *

[added 1998-03-05, updated 1999-02-21]

If you're thinking of maintaining descriptions for your files, DEDIT is the program to grab.

• Creates descript.ion files (4DOS not required). "Fully supports JP Software's specification for description files, including extra information tagged onto the end of descriptions and description files containing long file names (LFNs)."
• Handles up to 8000 files per directory
• Win9x LFN support.
• Extract and import descriptions from BBS lists.
• DEDIT's default maximum description length is 511 characters (= 4DOS / TakeCommand).
• Deleting a file will not automatically remove description from description file.
• Mouse support, great help, and much more...

Author: Mark Incley / Inkland, UK (1999).

1999-02-15: v1.53. Part of the InkUtils collection. Formerly shareware, now freeware.

Download ink153.exe (255K).

Get more info at the Inkutils page.

There are many freeware hex editors floating around – only a few listed here.

Some text editors, text viewers, and file managers also do hex – see: DN OSP — DN/2 — DOS Navigator — FED — File Wizard — Genesis Commander — NDN — PC Valet — Pedit — Peruse (2) — Pinco's Commander — VBX — Vim — ZED.

Also see Zap-It, a general purpose disk and hex editor, in Disk Utils - 2.

X (eXtract byte sequences) — Extracts information from a file.

unrated

[added 2005-07-17, updated 2006-03-14]

X is a neat little program that will extract any continuous chunk of bytes from any file. To start, open a file in a hex viewer or editor. Then (from the docs):

Look for information you want to be extracted. Write down the starting and ending offsets of the information. Now feed X with input filename, output filename, starting offset, and length (ending-starting offset). That's it!

Usage: x <infile> <outfile> <offset> [<length>]

  infile  = input file name (path optional)
  outfile = output file name (path optional)
  offset  = starting point (in infile) for dissection
  length  = # of bytes to extract to outfile (optional)

'infile' (location of segment to be extracted) may be of any type. If 'length' is not entered, extraction proceeds to end of 'infile'.

Thorough, detailed manual. Requires 8086+ or compatible CPU, DOS3.0+ or compatible.

Author: BTTR Software, Germany (2003).

2003-04-28 release. Free under 'Modified' BSD License.

Download xb.zip (9K).

Get more info & source at the X page.

More in these pages from BTTR Software.

BIEW (Binary VIEW) — Hex editor for power users, in 16- & 32-bit variants.

unrated

[added 2000-07-11, updated 2005-06-18]

Brief remarks: Biew presents a Norton-like interface. Unlike QVIEW and HIEW, BIEW remains both free (GPL) and in active development. Includes binary, hexadecimal and disassembler (Pentium4/K7 Athlon/Cyrix-M2) modes, with editing capability. Text mode allows viewing only. Real and protected mode DOS compilations are available. Uniquely, Linux, Win32 console, BeOS, OS/2 compilations of BIEW are also available. GPL freeware.

Author: Nick Kurshev, Russia (2004).

2004-09-19: v5.6.2.

Biew Home Pages: English — Russian.

Go to the Project page at Sourceforge for latest versions for DOS and other OSes.

QVIEW — Text / Hex / ASM viewer and hex editor for programmers.

* * * * *

A slick and fast viewer that can also function as a very capable hex editor. QVIEW can insert and delete bytes – not many freeware hex editors do that. Block operations supported. Mouse support. Note: Like HIEW, QVIEW is intended for experienced users, and others should approach it with some cautions in mind: editing changes appear to be written to disk without confirmation (at least the default config appears to act this way). There is an UNDO command that works in an untraditional fashion [place cursor on altered byte(s) that you wish to undo]. See extended description in Text Utils - 5.

HIEW (Hacker's View) — Hex editor for power users.

* * * * *

[added 1998-06-23, updated 1999-07-27].

This hex editor seems to be a longstanding freeware (prior to v6.15) favorite among programmers and hackers: The relatively sparse documentation assumes experience with hex editors (Use Alt-H for context sensitive help). Features from docs: Text / hex mode editor; Built-in Pentium Pro assembler; create new files; search and replace mode; Search of assembler commands using pattern; bookmarks; Block operations in HEX/DECODE modes. HIEW.EXE runs under both DOS and OS/2.

Author: Eugene Suslikov, Russia (1999).

1999-07-27: v6.11. Last free version, v6.15 and later are pay shareware.

Download hiew611.zip (350K).

HexIt — Hex editor with macros; can insert and delete bytes / blocks.

unrated.

[added 1998-08-16, updated 2001-09-19]

Includes text, hex, code and dump modes. Easy custom keyboard configuration. Byte insertion / deletion and block cut / paste. Can manage many files at once. Macro recording and playback. File compare feature. Includes assembler/ disassembler. Package includes a Win32 console EXE.

Author: Mikael Klasson, Sweden (2001).

2001-09-19: v1.57a.

Download hexit157a.zip (138K).

Hex — Small hex editor handles big files.

* * *

[updated 2004-06-26]

Listed here because it is quite small (11K) yet very usable for simple patching tasks. Can edit ASCII or binary files of any size. Dual display of hex and ASCII panes. Includes a character search feature. Menu bar displayed at bottom of screen, get more help with F1. Files must be loaded from command line. Interface is in German yet easy to interpret. No mouse support.

Navigate with arrow keys or PgUp/PgDn. Tab switches between panes. In the Hex pane, movement is to the right digit of each pair, editing is from right to left within the pair. Use lower case letters only: Shift/CapsLock are not accepted, even though display is upper case. In the text pane, upper and lower case letters are accepted and display correctly.

Author: Christian Stellmach, Germany (2002).

2002-08-12 release.

Download hex.zip (7.8K).

KZAP (KILL-O-ZAP) — Dual file hex editor/viewer with TSR option.

* * * *

[added 1998-03-16, updated 2005-12-09]

A useful and "dangerous" hex editor/viewer. Useful because it can display two files simultaneously, enabling you to scroll and compare both in a synchronous manner. If two files are loaded KZAP can also compare the data in the two windows. Potentially dangerous because any editing changes will be written immediately to disk, whether you like it or not. KZAP can also function as a RAM or disk viewer/editor. Byte replacement only. Option to load as a TSR (w/ unload). No mouse support.

Author: Doug Bagley (1991).

1991-11-03: v2.2C.

Download kzap22c.zip (30K).

MAKTST — Create dummy test files for program evaluation.

unrated

[added 1998-07-04, updated 2004-06-13]

A useful tool if you wish to test the capabilities of file handling programs (e.g., renamers, file managers). Allows customization of number, naming, and sizing of files.

MAKTST /NUM=number /BEG=StartNum /END=EndNum /SIZE=FileSize /NAME=file.ext

Note: Slow at creating very large files.

Author: Gordon Haff / Bit Masons Consulting (1991).

1991-12-27: v1.0.

Download mktst100.zip (36K).

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