WINDOWS 10 RECYCLE BIN

cj 20 Reputation points
2026-06-22T10:05:28.4533333+00:00

Hi! I have a couple of questions regarding the Recycle Bin on Windows 10.

I don't seem to have a Recycle Bin app or icon on my desktop/home screen, although I can still access it through File Explorer. Is there a way to restore or access the Recycle Bin directly without going through File Explorer?

Also, I have another drive (D:). How do I access the Recycle Bin for that drive? Is there a separate Recycle Bin for each drive, and if so, how can I open it?

I can only access it through searching it on my File Explorer User's image

But when I do this, I dont User's image

Thanks!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage
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Answer accepted by question author
DaveM121 934.2K Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-06-22T10:44:27.9866667+00:00

1

Open the Settings App.

Go to Personalization - Themes.

Clicks the Desktop Icon Settings button.

In there, you should be able to enable the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop.

2

If that does not create the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop:

Right click your desktop and select New folder.

In the name field, copy and paste the following and press Enter:

Recycle bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

The folder will automatically convert into the Recycle Bin.

3

Yes, other drivers, except a USB flash drive does have a recycle bin, and when they are connected to your PC, the files in the recycle bin on those drives will also appear in the same Recycle Bin on your Desktop

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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-22T10:05:46.3733333+00:00

    To restore and access Recycle Bin directly and understand how it works with multiple drives:

    1. Show the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop (Windows 10)
      1. Select Start > Settings.
      2. Go to Personalization > Themes.
      3. Select Desktop icon settings.
      4. Check Recycle Bin, then select OK (or Apply).
        The Recycle Bin icon will now appear on the desktop and can be opened directly from there.
      If no icons at all are visible on the desktop, right‑click the desktop, choose View, and make sure Show desktop icons is checked.
    2. Is there a separate Recycle Bin per drive?
      Windows maintains recycle‑bin data per drive internally, but the desktop Recycle Bin icon shows a unified view of deleted items from all local drives that use the Recycle Bin. There is not a separate “Recycle Bin app” per drive that needs to be opened individually.
    3. Accessing Recycle Bin contents for another drive (such as D:)
      Because the desktop Recycle Bin already aggregates items from all drives, deleted files from D: that go to the Recycle Bin will appear there automatically. Open the desktop Recycle Bin icon and look for the deleted items; the Original Location column will show which drive/folder they came from. The special $RECYCLE.BIN folder that can be seen on each drive (for example, C:\$RECYCLE.BIN or D:\$RECYCLE.BIN) is where Windows stores recycle‑bin data internally. It is not intended to be browsed directly; instead, use the standard Recycle Bin view (desktop icon or via File Explorer’s Recycle Bin) to restore items.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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