cfradenburg (6/2/2011)
As to why something goes through and cleans up the ghost records instead of just allowing the space get reused, that way the data doesn't remain on disk so it doesn't accidentally read by something. Or purposefully read by someone for that matter.
Ghost cleanup doesn't overwrite the ghosted rows. A direct read of the data file can see deleted data well after the ghosted rows are removed.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability