If you are missing the Windows Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and would like to restore it, follow the steps below.
NoteIf your desktop has no icons, it may be set to hide all icons on the desktop. Before following the steps below make sure your desktop is showing icons.
Show the Recycle Bin icon in Windows 10
- Right-click on the desktop.
- Click Personalize.
- Click Themes.
If you do not see the Themes on the left side of the window, make sure the window resize the window to make sure it is big enough to show all options. Otherwise, skip to the next suggestion.
- Scroll down and click Desktop icon settings under Related Settings.
- In the desktop Icon Settings window, check the Recycle Bin box to enable the Recycle Bin icon.
or
- Click Start or press the Windows key.
- Type Themes and press Enter or select Themes and related settings.
- Scroll down and click Desktop icon settings under Related Settings.
- In the desktop Icon Settings window, check the Recycle Bin box to enable the Recycle Bin icon.
Show the Recycling Bin in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1
- Right-click on the desktop.
- Click Personalize.
- Click Themes.
- Click Desktop icon settings.
- In the desktop icon settings window, check the Recycle Bin box to enable the Recycle Bin icon.
Showing the Recycling Bin in Windows Vista and Windows 7
- Right-click on the desktop.
- Click Personalize.
- In the Personalize appearance and sounds window, click the Change desktop icons link on the left side.
- Check the box next to Recycle Bin.
- Click Apply, then OK.
Microsoft Windows XP
If your computer is running Windows XP, follow these steps.
- Download and install Windows TweakUI.
- Open TweakUI and click Desktop as shown in the picture.
- In the Desktop section, check the box next to Recycle Bin.
- Click Apply, then OK.
Additional information
- See the Recycle Bin definition for further information and related links.
When you have a lot of Windows open on your PC, getting to the recycle bin can sometimes be a pain. Use this quick tip to create a fully functional recycle bin in your taskbar.
Creating a Fully Functional Recycle Bin in the Taskbar
Right-click on the taskbar, and choose Toolbars New Toolbar from the context menu. You should probably also unlock the taskbar at this point.
When you are asked to select a folder click on the navigation bar and paste the following into it.
%appdata%MicrosoftInternet ExplorerQuick Launch
Once you are in the folder you can click the Select Folder button.
You will notice that the toolbar is all the way over on the right, so click on the dotted lines and then drag the toolbar to the left.
Note: In order for you to see the dotted lines your taskbar needs to be unlocked.
Your taskbar should now look like this.
The next thing you will want to do is get rid of the text, so right-click on the dotted lines and uncheck “Show Text” as well as “Show Title” from the menu.
Now we need to make the icons bigger to do this, again right-click on the dotted lines, this time change the view from Small icons to Large icons.
Now we need to drag the Recycle Bin from the desktop onto the toolbar.
Finally we can delete the other shortcuts in the toolbar, then lock your taskbar again.
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If you have deleted the Recycle Bin icon by mistake from your desktop, then this post will show you how to restore Recycle Bin in Windows 10/8/7, using the Control Panel UI, by creating a folder, by tweaking the Windows Registry, changing a Group Policy setting or using a Microsoft Fix It.
Restore accidentally deleted Recycle Bin
There are several reasons for the Recycle Bin icon to disappear from the desktop. The most common is that you deleted it yourself and you can’t find the Recycle Bin now. Maybe you clicked on Delete instead of Empty Recycle Bin! Alternatively, some third-party software could have hidden the Recycle Bin as a result of which some system setting may have become corrupted. You could restore it using the UI, by creating a folder or by using the Windows Registry, Group Policy or a Fix It.
1] Using UI
Rome 2 total war crashes on end turn. Right-click on the desktop and select Personalization.
Now in the left side pane, you will see Change desktop icons. Click on it to open the Desktop Icon Settings box.
In Windows 10, you may open Settings > Personalizations > Themes and click on the Desktop icon settings link to open the panel.
Select the Recycle Bin check-box and click Apply.
The Recycle Bin icon will appear on your Windows desktop.
2] Create a folder
Righ-click on the desktop and select New folder. In the name field, copy-paste the following and hit Enter:
You will see the folder convert into the Recycle Bin!
For the geeks … You can also use the Windows Registry or the Group Policy to restore the deleted Recycle Bin.
3] Using Windows Registry
Run regedit to open The Windows Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
Right-click the registry key > Key, type the following and hit Enter:
Now click this new {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} key you created, and in the right pane, double-click the (Default) entry. Now in the Edit String dialog box, type Recycle Bin Vpn for pc free download windows 10. in the Value data box.
A value of 0 will show the Recycle Bin icon whereas 1 will hide it.
Click OK and exit.
4] Using Group Policy
Recycle Bin Windows 8 Location
If your version of Windows has the Group Policy Editor, do the following.
Run gpedit.msc to open the Local Group Policy Editor. Select User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Double-click Desktop. Now double-click Remove Recycle Bin icon from the desktop and click on the Setting tab.
This setting removes the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop, from File Explorer, from programs that use the File Explorer windows, and from the standard Open dialog box. This setting does not prevent the user from using other methods to gain access to the contents of the Recycle Bin folder. To make changes to this setting effective, you must log off and then log back on.
Disabled or Not Configured will show the icon. Selecting Enabled will hide it. Make your selection, click Apply/OK and exit.
5] Microsoft Fix It
Windows users can download and use this Microsoft Fix it 50210 to do it in a click.
How to convert .iso to .exe. Hope this helped!
TIP: Download this tool to quickly find & fix Windows errors automatically
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You may want to learn how to show the recycle bin in Windows 8 if you are used to having it there from earlier versions of Windows and rely on the recycle bin to delete unwanted folders and files. Deleting files with the Recycle Bin icon is as simple as dragging and dropping unwanted files and folders onto the icon, which is an action that has become commonplace for longtime Windows users.
But adding the Recycle Bin icon to the desktop in Windows 8 will require you to access the Personalize menu, which is something that you might not be familiar with. This is a menu that allows you to customize many of the settings for your computer’s desktop, including whether or not a Recycle Bin icon is displayed.
Do you need to install Microsoft Office on your Windows 8 computer? An Office 365 subscription can be the most cost-effective way to do so, especially if you need it on more than one computer.
Show a Recycle Bin Icon on Your Desktop in Windows 8
The steps below will help you display a Recycle Bin icon on your desktop if there is not already one there. There are a few other icons that you can also choose to display on your desktop, including a Computer and Control Panel icon, if you would like to have those as well.
Step 1: Navigate to the Windows 8 desktop.
Step 2: Right-click in an empty spot on the desktop, then click the Personalize option at the bottom of this shortcut menu.
Step 3: Click the Change Desktop Icons link at the left side of the window.
Recycle Bin Recovery Windows 8.1
Step 4: Check the box to the left of Recycle Bin at the top of the window.
Step 5: Click the Apply button at the bottom of the window to apply your changes, then click the OK button to close the window.
Do you want to change your desktop background? This article will show you the steps you need to take in order to modify your Windows 8 background.
Disclaimer: Most of the pages on the internet include affiliate links, including some on this site.
In Windows 10, you have the ability to pin Recycle Bin to the taskbar. Once you do this, the Recycle Bin icon will appear on the taskbar. From there, you can open it with one click or with a hotkey or empty it. Simply follow these steps written below.
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The Recycle Bin is a system folder which holds deleted files. If you have not deleted some file or folder permanently and have not disabled the Recycle Bin feature, then the deleted object will be stored in the Recycle bin folder until you empty it. When some files are stored in Recycle Bin, its icon changes from empty to full. The Recycle bin was first introduced in Windows 95.
To pin Recycle Bin to Taskbar in Windows 10, do the following.
- Create a new empty folder called Recycle bin anywhere on your disk. For example, I will create the folder
- Drag the Recycle Bin icon from the Desktop to the folder you just created. This will quickly create a shortcut to the Recycle Bin system folder.
- Rename the shortcut you created from 'Recycle Bin - shortcut' to 'Recycle Bin'. Tip: you can customize the shortcut name template or disable the '- shortcut' suffix.
- Now, create a new toolbar on the taskbar. Right-click the taskbar and select Toolbars - New toolbar in the context menu.
- Now, browse to the folder where you created the new Recycle Bin folder, select the Recycle Bin folder in the open dialog, and click on the 'Select folder' button.
- A new Recycle Bin toolbar will be added to the end of the taskbar as shown below:
- Now, right click the taskbar and untick the 'Lock the taskbar' item if you see the check mark there:
- Right click the Recycle bin label on the taskbar it and untick the following items: Show title, Show text. Enable the Large icons view.
- Now, move your toolbar to any desired place on the taskbar using the separator line.
That's it. Now you have the Recycle bin pinned to the taskbar. From its context menu, you can empty it.
The same method can be used to restore the good old Quick Launch toolbar in Windows 10.
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