The Recycle Bin may be missing from your Windows XP desktop if any of the following are true:
- A 3rd party program was used to hide it.
The TweakUI PowerToy was used to hide the Recycle Bin.
The Recycle Bin registry information was deleted.
A Group Policy. on Windows XP Pro, was used to hide the Recycle Bin.
You may be able to restore the Recycle Bin to the desktop with the following procedure:
1. Copy/Paste the following to a RecycleBin.reg file:
REGEDIT4
\[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel\]
"\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E\}"=dword:00000000
\[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum\]
"\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E\}"=-
\[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E\}\]
@="Recycle Bin"
2.
Merge the
RecycleBin.reg file with your registry or run
regedit /s RecycleBin.reg.
3. Shutdown and restart your computer.
If the above procedure did NOT restore the Recycle Bin, you can create a shortcut that will restore the following functionality:
- Deleting a file by dragging it to the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop.
- Retrieving a file by double-clicking the Recycle Bin icon, right-clicking the file, and pressing Restore.
- Emptying the Recycle Bin by right-clicking the icon and pressing Empty Recycle Bin.
- Setting Properties by double-click the Recycle Bin icon, right-click the Recycle Bin icon in the upper left corner of the Recycle Bin folder, and pressing Properties.
To create a Recycle Bin shortcut on your desktop:
01. Open My Computer.
02. Use the Tools menu to press Folder Options.
03. Select the View tab.
04. Clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) box. Press Yes to the warning dialog.
05. Press Apply and OK.
06. Press the Folders button on the toolbar.
07. Locate the Recycle Bin folder in the left hand pane and drag it to the desktop.
08. Use the Tools menu to press Folder Options.
09. Select the View tab.
10. Check the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) box, if so desired, pressing Apply and OK.
