Windows Recycle Bin has been a part of the operating system since its early days. The bin is a special folder that temporarily holds deleted files and folders. It has helped millions of users over the years by making it possible to quickly restore a file that was mistakenly deleted.
How to Recover Deleted Files From the Recycle Bin
The Recycle Bin is the first place to look when searching for deleted files. It is a special folder that the operating system uses to temporarily store recently deleted files and folders. Here are the easy steps to follow to attempt this data recovery method.
Step 1. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking on its icon.
Step 2. Locate the items you want to recover from the list displayed in the Bin.
Step 3. Right-click on the item you want to retrieve and choose the Restore option. This will recover the deleted item to its original storage location.
Why is it Possible to Recover Files from an Emptied Recycle Bin?
The Windows Recycle Bin is just a folder that is essentially the same as any other folder on your machine. When a file or folder is deleted from your computer, it is logically moved from its original location to the Recycle Bin. When the Bin is emptied either automatically or manually, the logical links to the data are deleted by the operating system.
This makes the data inaccessible by any applications but does not immediately physically remove it. The space that had been occupied by the items in the emptied Recycle Bin is now available to the operating system to store new information. Until the OS uses this space and overwrites the previous data, files can be retrieved with data recovery software.
How to Recover Deleted Files from an Emptied Recycle Bin
A data recovery application can restore files that have been permanently deleted from your computer, an option that is not offered by the operating system. Follow steps below in order to use Disk Drill to recover deleted files after emptying the Recycle Bin.
Download and Install Disk Drill
Launch Disk Drill and Select the Disk
Scan for Deleted Data
Preview Recoverable Files
Perform the Recovery
Disk Drill for Windows & macOS Free DownloadDisk Drill Data Recovery Software vs Basic Windows Tools
Parameter | Disk Drill | Basic Windows Tools |
|---|---|---|
Ability to recover files from an emptied Recycle Bin. | Yes. Disk Drill can recover files and folders that have been permanently deleted from the Recycle Bin. | You cannot recover files from an empty Recycle Bin with native Windows tools. You might be able to recover a previous version of the file. |
Recover deleted files that are larger than the Recycle Bin. | Yes. Disk Drill can recover files that are deleted without going to the Recycle Bin. | No. You will not be able to use basic Windows tools to recover a file that is too large for the Recycle Bin. |
Recover the most recent version of a deleted file. | Yes. Disk Drill scans your drive and recovers the most recent versions of a lost file. | No. The best that native Windows tools can do is recover a previous version of a deleted file. |
Recover recently deleted photos. | Yes. | Yes. If they are still resident in the Recycle Bin, they are easily recoverable. |
Why Deleted Files May Not be in the Recycle Bin
The Recycle Bin can be extremely useful for recovering recently deleted files. There are, however, several conditions that can result in a deleted item not appearing in the Recycle Bin. Configurable limitations regarding storage space and elapsed time instruct the operating system to permanently remove items from the Bin. You can also permanently delete files using a specific keystroke combination. Here are the factors you need to keep in mind concerning the Window Recycle Bin and why your deleted file cannot be found.
Space limitations
The Recycle Bin is sensitive to storage space in two ways. By default, the Recycle Bin takes up about 5% of your main disk space. You can configure this as you wish to allow more space to be used. This can be beneficial to address the potential issues that can be caused by limited Recycle Bin space.
Space is kept available in the Recycle Bins by rolling off the oldest files to make room for newly deleted items. This can result in files being deleted much sooner than expected if the space allocation is too low. Similarly, a file will not be sent to the Recycle Bin if it exceeds the Bin’s size. This can also lead to files that are not available in the Bin when that is where you expect them to be located.
Time limitation
Windows automatically removes items from the Recycle Bin after a designated number of days. By default, data is retained in the Bin for 30 days. This number can be modified as you wish and you can opt for files to never be automatically deleted from the Bin. In this case, you need to manually empty the Bin periodically or risk running out of space for newly deleted items.
Permanent File Deletion
Using the Shift-Delete keystroke combination bypasses the Recycle Bin and essentially permanently deletes the item. Data recovery software may be able to restore files and folders that have been deleted in this way.
Common Recycle Bin Problems
Missing Recycle Bin Icon
Solution: You can get the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop by following these steps.
1. Right-click the desktop and select Personalize.
2. Switch to the Themes tab.
3. Click the Desktop icons settings link.
4. Check the box for the Recycle Bin icon.
5. Click OK.
Recycle Bin is Corrupt Error
Solution: Resolve a Recycle Bin is corrupted message by performing this procedure.
1. Open a Command Prompt window as administrator.
2. Paste the following command and hit Enter:
rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin
3. Close the Command Prompt window and restart your computer.
If your Recycle Bin is not on the C drive, modify the command with the correct letter.
Recycle Bin file association error
Solution: The best way to handle this error is to manually remove all of the items from the Recycle Bin. Open the Recycle Bin and verify that you really want to permanently delete the files it contains before performing the operation.
FAQ
When a file or folder is deleted from the Recycle Bin, the storage space that it previously occupied is marked as available by the operating system. Future activity on the disk may use this space and overwrite the original data.
Yes. Data recovery software can restore documents that have been removed from the Recycle Bin.
Possibly. Data recovery software can retrieve the file if it has not been overwritten in the months since it has been deleted.
