How To Use Windows' Recycle Bin
Whether you call it trash, garbage, junk, or refuse, it always seems to accumulate — even on a computer. Old files take up space on the hard drive and may make it difficult to find the ones you really need.
The answer to the computer trash problem is the Recycle Bin. Whenever you delete a file, it's sent to the Recycle Bin. You can identify the Recycle Bin from its little trash can icon. Microsoft introduced it in Windows 95, but credit for its origination must be given to Apple, however, since the Macintosh trash can has been part of the Mac operating system since its inception.
It's easy to delete files that you no longer need, and there are basically three ways to delete them:
- Highlight the file and press the Delete (Del) key;
- Right-click on the file and choose Delete from the menu; or,
- Drag the file to the Recycle Bin.
The Recycle Bin is a holding place for deleted files. It's convenient because it's like taking the garbage to the trash bin outside the house. Deleted files remain in the bin until it's emptied. Although you don't usually go rummaging through the trash bin at home, when working on the computer, there are times when a file is inadvertently deleted and it's nice to know that you can look through the Recycle Bin to retrieve it.
To retrieve a file from the Recycle Bin, simply double-click on the Recycle Bin icon. You will then see all the documents, files, and shortcuts that have been deleted. When you see the file you want to retrieve, right-click on that file and choose Restore and the file will return to the place it was originally stored. You can also drag the file to wherever you want to place it.
Files remain in the Recycle Bin until you empty it by right-clicking on the icon and choosing Empty Recycle Bin. You can also use the Disk Cleanup utility to clean your hard drive and empty the Recycle Bin. To access Disk Cleanup, click on Start - (All) Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk Cleanup. Once the Recycle Bin is emptied, the addresses of all the files sent to it are lost and those files can only be retrieved with a special disk recovery program.
For this reason, many users never empty the Recycle Bin, but the data in the Recycle Bin takes up space on your hard drive, so you will want to occasionally empty the trash.
Here are a few other helpful things to know about the Recycle Bin:
- By default, the Recycle Bin is set to reserve up to 10% of your hard drive space for its use. So, if you have a 10 Gigabyte drive your Recycle Bin is occupying a whopping 1 Gigabyte of hard drive space. To change the amount of space allocated, right-click on the Recycle Bin, choose Properties, and use the slider to increase or lessen the amount of reserved space.
- Remember that if the Recycle Bin fills up, items may be permanently deleted rather than being stored in the bin.
- The Recycle Bin may work differently with networked computers. For instance, when you delete a file from another computer on your network, depending on your network and computer settings, that file is often permanently deleted without being sent to the Recycle Bin.
If you would like to dig a little deeper into your trash, take a look at Microsoft's article on How the Recycle Bin Stores Files. The Recycle Bin is actually more interesting and useful than you may think!
