What happens if i delete everything on my computer

Say, for instance, that you accidentally delete a local file. That file will now be removed from your cloud drive, as well. Once you miss the restoration timeframe, you still can get it back. Simply recall a backup before the time you deleted the file, which should allow the system to bring it back. An important caveat for this step: backing up your system to a point in the past also eliminates any other changes you might have made to files in the meantime.

New or updated files might be lost or reverted to their original form, so this step should only be taken with great caution. Cloud storage, and the resulting question that headlines this article, is so important in part because of the significant problem data loss has become. Cloud storage purports to solve that problem. Because the files are stored virtually, an office fire or hard drive failure is not enough to eliminate your data. But what happens when the link between local and cloud data is so close that the loss of one automatically leads to the loss of the other?

If deleting a file on your local drive means erasing it in the cloud as well, what good is this virtual storage? The applications, it turns out, go far beyond expanded storage. Artificial intelligence processes comb the data, turning it from a collection of documents and articles into a dynamic, inherently usable piece.

At the same time, the ability to turn a simple data directory into a dynamic knowledge base shows just what is possible on this front.

Storing your core information in such a knowledge base, of course, also protects your organization from potential data loss after deleting files. Here, the files become part of a great whole, so deleting the initial Word document from which they originated will do little to stop the larger processes at hand.

Finally, effective data management can prevent data loss from occurring so that the question post in the title of this article never needs to come to fruition. Instead, it integrates multiple solutions to work closely together, ultimately pursuing a goal of comprehensive data management. For Capacity, that means comprehensive app integrations with several cloud storage solutions. File systems like OneDrive and Google Drive are already part of the equation, while others like Dropbox are coming soon.

Once again, before you begin, be sure to back up important files and then sign out of iCloud. You should also copy your keychains to a flash drive. This will reinstall the operating system that came with your Mac.

Once you've done that, the Utilities window will pop up in the middle of your screen. Open the Disk Utility and erase your built-in hard disk. Make sure to select the disk, not the volume name listed beneath it. After the reinstall, the Mac will begin the setup process. This should look familiar if you've set up this computer before. You can do that by clicking System Preferences in the Apple Menu in the upper left-hand corner and then clicking Software Update. Eventually a screen will appear featuring a black background and two icons: your hard drive called Macintosh HD unless you changed it and Options.

Click Options. At this point, you may be asked to input a username and password. You can then follow the onscreen instructions, which include things like selecting your language and WiFi password. Before beginning the factory reset process, back up all important files. The process for resetting your PC differs slightly for each version of the operating system. For Windows 10, go to the Start Menu and click on Settings. Follow the instructions to revert your computer back to when it was first unboxed.

Chromebook users have the easiest time wiping their laptops. This folder's name is a bit confusing. It actually holds files used by Internet Explorer's ActiveX controls and Java applets, so if you use the same feature on a website, you don't have to download it twice. In effect, this folder is useless today. ActiveX is an extremely outdated technology that's full of security holes, and Java is near-extinct on today's web.

Internet Explorer is the only browser that supports ActiveX, and you'll probably only encounter it on ancient corporate websites if ever now.

Most home users don't use IE anymore, let alone ActiveX. Your Downloaded Program Files folder might already be empty, but feel free to clean out its contents if it's not.

The LiveKernelReports folder is another directory which likely comes up when you're scanning for large files on your computer. This folder is home to dump files, which are ongoing information logs that Windows keeps.

If your computer runs into an issue, you can analyze the contents of these files to start troubleshooting your problem. Any huge files ending with the DMP file extension in this folder are safe to delete. Like the above locations, though, we recommend using Disk Cleanup instead of deleting the file yourself.

When Windows crashes or you have other major computer problems, don't delete these dump files right away. You can use a program like WhoCrashed to get more info from them.

While the Rempl folder isn't large, you might be surprised when you see it appear on your system. It contains several small files, and you might even notice a few Task Manager processes connected to it. This folder is connected to Windows 10 update delivery. It includes "reliability improvements" to help make Windows 10 updates go smoothly and iron out compatibility issues.

So can you delete the Rempl folder? There are seemingly no adverse effects from doing so. However, since it only takes up a few megabytes and can make Windows upgrades less frustrating, it's best to keep it around. It takes a bit of looking around, but Windows holds plenty of files and folders that aren't necessary. Remember that your computer does a pretty good job of keeping itself clean, so you don't have to obsessively remove the contents of these folders unless you're really low on disk space.

Running the Disk Cleanup tool once or twice a month should do enough to keep the cruft away. If you still need to free up a lot of space, try uninstalling some unnecessary Windows software.

Wondering which Windows 10 apps to uninstall? Here are several unnecessary Windows 10 apps, programs, and bloatware you should remove. He left his IT job to write full-time in and has never looked back.

He's been covering tech tutorials, video game recommendations, and more as a professional writer for over seven years.