My recycling bin has disappeared and I cannot find it.

Anonymous
2010-04-16T13:55:29+00:00

My brother went on my laptop and after he was finished, he said he 'deleted' my recycling bin. I'm not sure if that is what happened, but I cannot find it. I have searched for it, and it isn't showing up.

Help greatly appreciated.

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Anonymous
2010-04-16T15:33:05+00:00

Hi,

Just for general info first: Your brother may be right. It actually is possible to delete the recycling bin, or more specifically the recycling bin shortcut. If you right click on the recycle bin icon two options are of interest here "Empty recycle bin" and "Delete". If you click recycle bin you win, the recycle bin is emptied. If you hit delete, which it sounds like your brother did, it deletes the icon itself.  So that's why it's gone...

So getting the recycling bin back, here's how. This solution works for Vista and Windows 7:

Right click on a blank area of the desktop. You will see the option for "personalize", and mouse over and select this. On the left hand pane under the personalization menu you will see "Change desktop icons". Click on this.  From here a tab will come up showing a check-box for major desktop icons. One of those icons is Recycle bin. Go ahead and check the checkbox. Click ok and the recycle bin will re-appear on the desktop.

Hope this helps,

Steve <> Microsoft Partner

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Anonymous
2010-04-16T15:42:20+00:00

Right click your desktop, select Personalize. On the left pan, select Change desktop icons. Put a check on the Recycle Bin, and press Ok.

Your recycle bin icon will be back!

--

Dustin Harper

*** Email address is removed for privacy ***

http://www.mstechpages.com  Microsoft News, support, FAQ's and much more!

"Martin.992" wrote in message news:de2b7b40-6711-44d2-af33-7786b3f2e8cd...

My brother went on my laptop and after he was finished, he said he 'deleted' my recycling bin. I'm not sure if that is what happened, but I cannot find it. I have searched for it, and it isn't showing up.

Help greatly appreciated.

Dustin Harper *** Email address is removed for privacy *** http://www.mstechpages.com --- Windows Help and Support Page

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20+ people found this answer helpful.
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  1. Anonymous
    2016-03-29T21:49:43+00:00

    On my Windows 7 Professional laptop, I followed the instructions to Change desktop icons.  When I remove the check by recycle bin, apply, and then replace the check by the recycle bin and hit apply again, the recycle bin appears on the desktop.

    This worked for me.  The Recycle Bin shortcut is still there after five minutes and desktop refresh.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-02-15T20:02:45+00:00

    Same here, but I have Windows 10. Tried the solutions listed above, still no recycle bin!

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-01-31T23:39:26+00:00

    This solution does not work in Windows 10 after an Upgrade from Windows 8.1.

    After clicking the Box for the Recycle Bin and "OK"  , it should have come back , but didn't.

    Is there an intermediary step to take to facilitate bring back the Recycle Bin ?

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