The first character of the Directory Entry file name is changed to a special character. Nothing is done to the Data Area. The data is untouched. The File Allocation Table entry for that particular file is linked to the particular location in the data area where the file data is stored. The first character of the Directory Entry file name is changed to a legal character.
Nothing is done to the Data Area.
Not Touched As long as the actual data in the Data Area is not overwritten by a new file, deleted files can be recovered. The Long File Name can be recovered, but does not need to be recovered to restore the deleted file. When a Hard Disk Drive or Diskette is formatted, the Data Area is also left untouched. The FAT and Directory Entry are zeroed out and more steps are required to recover this data. Normally most of the original data can be recovered from formatted media.