Solving the Issue of Windows 10 Not Finding or Unable to Open Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin on Windows is designed to hold files that you've deleted by pressing the "Delete" key or selecting the option, or by dragging the file to the Trash icon. You can choose to empty the Recycle Bin to permanently delete everything inside, or use the "Restore" feature to get back something you previously deleted.

However, you might encounter some issues with the Recycling Bin. Sometimes, your Recycling Bin may get corrupted, or you could have problems accessing the Recycling Bin in Windows 10/8/7 simply because the icon is missing. In this case, you won't be able to open the Recycling Bin and recover deleted files from it. Considering this, we'll introduce you to everything about the Recycling Bin, from why the icon might be missing to how to restore the missing Recycling Bin icon on Windows 10/8/7 and how to recover lost files from the Recycling Bin.

Check out three advanced troubleshooting methods to easily locate your Recycle Bin icon:

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Why Can't I Find Recycle Bin on Windows 10/8/7?

When you get a new computer, there's usually a Recycle Bin shortcut on the desktop. Someday, though, you might be surprised to find that it's disappeared! Usually, the Recycle Bin gets lost due to accidental deletion or some other unknown error. Fortunately, there are several ways you can get it back.

Three Ways to Fix "Recycle Bin Missing" on Windows 10/8/7

If you don't see any other icons next to Recycle Bin, right-click an empty area of the desktop, and select View > Show desktop icons. If you're only missing Recycle Bin, you can restore it in Windows using one of these methods.

Method 1: Restore the Recycle Bin through Desktop Icon Settings

While the "Recycle Bin" icon should appear on your desktop by default, certain settings changes can make it disappear. Therefore, the first trick you can try is to check your desktop icon settings in Windows. To restore the Recycle Bin in Windows 10, follow these steps:

Step 1: Right-click on the empty space on your desktop and choose “Personalize.”

Step 2: Click on "Change desktop icons."

Step 3: Check the box next to "Trash."

Step 4: Finally, click “Apply” and then “OK”.

Method 2: Restore the Recycle Bin Icon by Redownloading It

When you install new programs, you can send their icons to the desktop for quick access. Likewise, if you lose the Recycle Bin icon, you can send it to the desktop again.

Step 1: Open "This PC", go to the "View" tab, and then select "Options".

Step 2: In the Folder Options window, click on the View tab.

Step 3: Check the box for “Show hidden files, folders, and drives,” and uncheck “Hide protected operating system files (recommended).”

Step 4: Go to the C drive and you will see the "$Recycle.Bin" folder.

5. Navigate to this folder, right-click on “Recycle Bin” and select Send To > Desktop (create shortcut).

Step 6. To prevent accidentally deleting protected system files, go back to the Folder Options and select the option to Hide protected operating system files (recommended).

Method 3: Repair the Recycle Bin in Windows 10 Using System File Checker

A missing or corrupted system file can cause the "Recycle Bin missing" issue in Windows 10/8/7. You can easily check and fix problematic system files to resolve the missing Recycle Bin issue using the built-in Windows System File Checker tool.

Step 1: Type Command Prompt in the Windows search box.

Step 2 Right-click Command Prompt in the search results, and select Run as administrator.

Step 3: Type the following commands in order (to use the DISM command to create a Windows image that protects your data):

`DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth` translates to: "DISM.exe Online / Cleanup-image / Restorehealth" This command is used to repair the system image online, clean it up, and restore its healthy state. It can fix the integrity of system files. `sfc /scannow` translates to: "System File Checker / Scan Now" This command scans all protected system files, checks their integrity, and repairs any damaged or missing files.

How to Recover a Deleted File from the Recycling Bin

When you can't find the Recycle Bin in Windows, you won't be able to recover any files you accidentally deleted. Fortunately, the Data Recovery Wizard tool can help whether you want to perform a Recycle Bin recovery or retrieve files after emptying the Recycle Bin. It's particularly useful when the program is missing or won't open.

Step 1. To specifically recover files from the Empty Recycle Bin on Windows 11/10/8/7, hover the mouse pointer over the 'Location' section and click on 'Recycle Bin'. Then, hit 'Scan'.

Step 2: The tool will instantly start a quick scan for all deleted files and then automatically initiate a deep scan to look for more lost files. Once the scanning is finished, you can use the "Filter" option to choose a specific file type, such as images, Word documents, videos, and so on.

< strong > Step 3 : After finding the file you want to recover, you can double-click to preview the entire file. Then, select the target file and click " Recover ". We recommend that you save the recovered files to a different disk partition or an external USB drive to avoid overwriting the data.

Additional tips about the Windows Recycle Bin

Aside from the "Can't find recycle bin" issue, there are other questions or issues related to this application that are frequently asked.

Where is the Recycle Bin folder?

If you've ever looked at the properties of your Recycle Bin, you'll know that each partition on your computer has its own Recycle Bin location. As such, each drive on your computer has a Recycle Bin folder. However, since the Recycle Bin folder is protected by the operating system and hidden by default, you need to unhide it to access the folder.

Step 1: Open "This PC", go to the "View" tab, and then select "Options".

<Step 2> Click the View tab in the Folder Options window.

Step 3: Click to select “Show hidden files, folders, and drives,” and then uncheck “Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).”

< b >Step 4.< /b > Open any hard disk partition and you will see the "$Recycle.Bin" folder.

"How do I find the recycle bin on my phone?"

This may disappoint you, but the truth is that neither Android phones nor iPhones have a trash can. So if you need to recover accidentally deleted files, you'll have to use an Android data recovery software or an iOS data recovery software to get them back.

"Why can't I open the Recycle Bin on Windows 10?"

Unlike the issue of not finding the Recycle Bin icon, a considerable number of Windows users face a more severe problem – the inability to open the Recycle Bin. When they attempt to double-click the icon to access it, the application fails to launch or keeps crashing, resulting in an endless loop. In such cases, you need to find ways to fix the corrupted Recycle Bin to regain access to its contents.

If you can't open the Trash, follow these steps:

Step 1: Run the "Command Prompt" as an administrator

Step 2. Type the command rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin, and then press Enter.

Step 3: Type exit and press Enter to close the Command Prompt window.

Bottom line

Don't worry when you can't find the Recycle Bin in Windows. There are solutions to restore it, whether it's getting the desktop icon back or recovering files within the Recycle Bin. Additionally, some related issues are addressed to help you resolve your problem successfully.