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So you lost your Recycle Bin icon. Maybe you deleted it on purpose, as I showed in our last tip, or maybe you don’t know how it disappeared. Assuming you didn’t turn off all your desktop icons (right-click your desktop, choose View from the menu, and choose Show Desktop Icons if it doesn’t have a check next to it, which will turn them back on), it’s easy to get back, so stop your sweating and follow these simple steps.
-
Right-click on your desktop and choose Personalize
-
Click on the Change Desktop Icons link in the upper left hand corner
-
In the Desktop Icons Settings window, check the Recycle Bin box and click OK
That’s it, told you it was easy!
Note: There is now a Microsoft ‘Fix It’ that will also restore the icon for you! Download it from this page.
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Comments
ITsVISTA Tip 20: Other Vista Recycle Bin Options | ITsVISTA
Jan 21, 2007 at 12:05 pm
[...] I've mentioned previously how to remove the Recycle Bin from your desktop, and how to restore it. Now lets take a look a bit further into how the Recycle Bin works, and at some of the ways you can reconfigure how it behaves. [...]
30 Tips for Getting More (or Less) Out of Windows Vista | ITsVISTA
Jan 31, 2007 at 9:40 am
[...] Restore Your Vista Recycle Bin Icon [...]
Nearsighted
Feb 2, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I accidently clicked delete on the recycle bin instead of empty. To get it back I went through the process as you have described. Although the recycle bin works fine, the icon no longer changes when there are items in the bin. It always appears empty. Any ideas on how to fix this? I’ve tried restoring the system, reverting to the original icon… nothing has worked. Email me.
Recyce Bin Deleted
Feb 4, 2007 at 9:37 am
[...] Just follow the steps in this tip: ITsVISTA Tip 19: Restore Your Vista Recycle Bin Icon [...]
Oscar
Feb 18, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Here it’s happening to me to. After restoring the recycle in icon, it doesn’t update wether if its empty or full.
Is there any way to fix this problem. Now I cannot know if the bin is empty or it has something on it, not matter what I do it won’t change the icon.
Joe
Feb 18, 2007 at 11:28 pm
I’ve tried it a few times on mine and mine is working. Do you see the correct empty and full icons in the Desktop Icon Settings window? Does hitting the ‘restore default’ button make any difference?
Oscar
Feb 19, 2007 at 1:43 am
Yes I’ve tried it many times. But it doesn’t work.
The situation is when the icon appears empty, then you delete a file, the recycle bin still show as emty. Although you can go and “explore” and find your deleted files.
But the icon itself never updates states. The only way to show it is when you hit F5 or rght click on the desktop and choose “Refresh”.
This is such a stupid bug. I was reading on the net that Vista Beta 1 was having this issue, and still now it hasn’t been fixed,
oSomehow the icons are not refreshing.
I’ve tried rebuilding cache icon, and no go.
Igor
Mar 4, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Guys,
Iam having the same issue as Oscar, after deleting recycle bin icon and restoring it, it aleays shows “empty”. If there is any fix, please post solution.
sam
Mar 6, 2007 at 10:47 pm
same problem as all the other guys help!!!!
sam
Mar 6, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I just found the solution to my problem which others may find useful….
HERE IS THE FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM: right click on desktop, got to
‘personalize’, then in the left column click ‘change desktop icons’.
Afterwards, click on the ‘recycle bin empty’ icon and change it with the icon
that shows the recycle bin full…and do the same for the ‘recycle bin full’
icon. Click apply. Now when the recycle bin is full it will show empty and
when empty it will show full. Go back and change them to the normal icons as
they should be and it will solve the problem
Joe
Mar 7, 2007 at 1:06 am
Thanks Sam! Can anyone else confirm that this worked for them as well?
Les
Mar 7, 2007 at 4:45 am
Sam, Your solution works like a charm
Thanx a lot.
ITsVISTA Tip 42: Fix Your Broken Recycle Bin Icon in Vista | ITsVISTA
Mar 8, 2007 at 1:01 am
[...] posting my tip on how to "Restore Your Vista Recycle Bin Icon", a number of readers commented on how their icon didn't work right after restoring it. [...]
Joe
Mar 8, 2007 at 9:38 am
I’ve added a tip that walks through Sam’s solution:
ITsVISTA Tip 42: Fix Your Broken Recycle Bin Icon in Vista
Thanks again Sam!
Steve
Mar 28, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I tried to use the Personalization approach but the Recycle Bin is greyed out. I cannot change it nor can I find out why it is greyed out. Any idea?
Thanks!
Joe
Mar 28, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Do you have administrative rights? I’ve not seen this, nor can I reproduce it, but I did find two others that have had the same problem:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-12546_102-0.html?forumID=133&threadID=202215&messageID=2440485
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-vista/457327-vista-recycle-bin-missing.html
Unfortunately nobody has suggested a fix there either. If you resolve this, do let us know how!
Beau
Mar 29, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Great tip. Got my empty and full icons back correctly.
Steve
Mar 30, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Hi Joe,
To the best I can determine, I have admin rights in Vista. I am able to install software and I was able to turn off the annoying UAC option. I am trying to figure out whether the OS “thinks” I have admin rights…or not.
Thanks!
Gumbo Gurl
Apr 2, 2007 at 10:05 pm
I had a disappearance of the recycle bin as well (probably deleted it by accident) and followed the simple steps to bring it back. I noticed some of you had problems with the bin not changing from full to empty or vice versa. Just as Joe, I didn’t have that problem. Everything worked as normal after I moved the recycle bin back to the desktop. I wonder why the difference in behavior. I’ve saved the info though for future reference. Thanks for the simple fix!
Jbears
Apr 3, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Great tip. I had to do it a couple times but it finally reset. tyvm
Chris
Apr 30, 2007 at 7:10 am
Worked 1st time 4 me 2!
J Lo
Jun 3, 2007 at 3:14 am
I had problems restoring the Recycling Bin. After stumbling on your site I am pleased to say your step by step instructions to restore the icon worked. I have now added your site to my Favorites. Many thanks.
Matt Sharpe
Jun 21, 2007 at 4:14 am
Sam, your solution is most excellent!
This bug was really starting to annoy me. I am so glad it is fixed!
Thank you.
Matt
petit_chocobo
Jul 15, 2007 at 5:47 am
thanks heaps! it worked. although not the first time when I tried to restore using “restaure defaults”, so each time it’s necessary to actually go and pick the icon. thanks heaps for your help.
jmonte
Jul 17, 2007 at 5:42 pm
THANKS!!! I came across you help site after stupidly deleting my recycle bin. I was able to restore after a few simple steps as oultined above for Vista users. Much appreciated!!!
Guess I shouldn’t use the computer after a few glasses of wine :-0
Cheers (no pun intended)
jmonte.
DJRUSS
Jul 21, 2007 at 2:05 pm
thanks this works for fixin a deleted bin. how stupit of MS for not fixin this before reless
Martha
Jul 26, 2007 at 5:00 pm
i love you. Will you marry me?
Joe
Jul 26, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Sorry, I only accept proposals via e-mail: jpfieber@gmail.com
Sam Canada
Jul 29, 2007 at 4:34 pm
After trying tons of sites with editing reg keys and stuff, came along ur site. And it was as easy as U said its gonna be. U r da man ITsVISTA.
Ryan
Jul 30, 2007 at 4:10 pm
My Recycle Bin Icon on my Vista desktop constantly disappears on me. Usually after an action, like deleting something. It’s getting annoying.
free ps3
Sep 3, 2007 at 6:50 am
Thanks for the nice tutorial!
Garth
Sep 4, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Hey thank you so much my little brother screwed me over doin that and I was gonna snap my computer in half but thank you so much I love the people who made this site thank you so much
Enzo
Sep 7, 2007 at 7:16 am
Thanks a to to sam for the advice on how to restore the behaviour of the bin icon. it works fine !
he says:
“sam
Mar 6, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I just found the solution to my problem which others may find useful….
HERE IS THE FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM: right click on desktop, got to
‘personalize’, then in the left column click ‘change desktop icons’.
Afterwards, click on the ‘recycle bin empty’ icon and change it with the icon
that shows the recycle bin full…and do the same for the ‘recycle bin full’
icon. Click apply. Now when the recycle bin is full it will show empty and
when empty it will show full. Go back and change them to the normal icons as
they should be and it will solve the problem.”
Michael Belsky
Sep 24, 2007 at 12:13 am
i had to switch the icons to the opposite of what they should be. then i clicked set to default for the full and empty icons and it fixed it. need help? errorhelp at gmail dot com
(always write your email address like this so spam bots wont add them to their lists)
Janet
Oct 8, 2007 at 9:06 am
Thanks heaps Sam, it did work on mine.
Mike
Oct 9, 2007 at 8:53 pm
When you go to desktop icon settings, there should be a area where you can change the icons. Click on the “Recycling Empty” or the “Recycling Full” Stuff. Then Press “Change Icon”.
Either you do that of press the “Restore Deafults” button. It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3.
Holly H.
Oct 19, 2007 at 10:54 pm
I would like to know, right after I restored my recycling bin icon it’s not showing the same as it was before. It’s not showing an empty bin after I restore or delete what I had in it. Is there any way that I could fix that so it’s normal again? Please e-mail me any comments on how to fix this.
Laura
Oct 31, 2007 at 7:03 am
Thanks for the tip on how to get the Recycle Bin back. I was freaking out. I accidently deleted it instead of the contents inside. Whoops.
Kathy
Nov 13, 2007 at 6:11 pm
I too accidently deleted my recyle bin under Vista Home Basic. After restoring, I had the weird refresh problem. The solution above to redefine the icons and then swap them back works. Go figure….
Tian Sun
Dec 4, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Wow! Thank you! I successfully restored my recycle bin icon under the help of this tip. You know what? You solved my problem which I could not get resolved from Microsoft web site!
This is a great site! Thanks again!
Tian
Brandon
Dec 5, 2007 at 6:48 pm
well ok the whole restore icon thing worked, thanks alot, relly. but the only problem i have still is that the recycle bin icon disappears (but its like its still there, just no icon) after deleating the contents inside please email me at bmm513 at gmail dot com
Joe
Dec 6, 2007 at 2:47 pm
@Brandon: Try this tip and see if it helps:
http://itsvista.com/2007/03/itsvista-tip-42-fix-your-broken-recycle-bin-icon-in-vista/
Bob
Dec 11, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I can’t believe it worked, but it did. Who thinks this stuff up?
Brandon
Dec 15, 2007 at 12:53 pm
never mind guys i was doing it all wrong..it works great. you dont know how much that ment to me…thanks dude
sweetymeellen
Dec 18, 2007 at 11:40 pm
thanks a lot…it really helped me..wow…great…
Chris
Dec 31, 2007 at 7:40 am
Here’s a new variation of the problem: when I empty my recycle bin about 1/5 of the time the icon itself disappears. Not deleted, just completely transparent. The text is still in place below it and I can double click on the empty space above the text and open the recycle bin, but there’s no icon. It doesn’t affect the functionality but it is irritating. Any ideas?
brandon
Dec 31, 2007 at 12:56 pm
wow, ok, chris i had that exact problem. what you want to do is erase the recycle bin from your desktop. now right click and go to the personalize and click on the desktop icons thing to you left. without placing the recycle bin on your desktop follow these instructions- http://itsvista.com/2007/03/itsvista-tip-42-fix-your-broken-recycle-bin-icon-in-vista/- now that you have done that, restore your recycle bin back on your desktop. it should work now.
Recycle BIn in VISTA - WCCFtech.com
Jan 12, 2008 at 12:13 am
[...] ITsVISTA Tip 19: Restore Your Vista Recycle Bin Icon | ITsVISTA Vista recycle bin missing – Tech Support Guy Forums __________________ [...]
Nadine
Jan 29, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Okay – I’ve completed the process to restore the recycle bin – but it still isn’t showing up. Has anyone else run into this? Everything is checked correctly, I’ve hit “apply” and “Okay” and when I go to my Desktop, it’s still not there. Help??
brandon
Jan 30, 2008 at 2:44 pm
make shure you trash icon is not on your desktop first. i had the same problem
jainth
Feb 14, 2008 at 1:26 am
i did that wat u mentioned above but in that place my recycle bin check box is disabled ..
how do i rectify this problem please help me …
please
DaVida
Feb 23, 2008 at 7:42 pm
I read through all of the comments and my problems seems a bit different.
My recycle bin (only) just occassionally disappears on it’s own and re-appears all on it’s own. I haven’t deleted accidently. None of the other icons on my desktop do this.
fairy
Feb 24, 2008 at 8:30 am
HOw can restore deleted recycle bin in windows XP having multi users accounts..
holly
Mar 13, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Thanks so much I was able to resolve my problem!
SANDY
Mar 20, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Guys the best solution is to do a system restore to a date when it was working fine
THFCfan
May 2, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I had no idea how to fix it (bad design in the first place by Microsoft) so I went to the guest user and dragged its recycle bin in to (either) Public or Shared (can remember which) then went back to my normal user and dragged it out the other side
Admittedly it has he little short cut thing on it and I dont think it shows if its full or not but I was just happy to have it back after a few moments of panic, lol.
James Joell
May 14, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Thankyou for this tutorial…
I did wonder where the f*$k it went lol
ben
May 20, 2008 at 8:29 pm
thank you sam it worked got bin back
importkustomz
May 27, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Wow! Thanks for the awesome tip! You pwn ;z
ric
May 27, 2008 at 8:05 pm
what enzo said works…..
missing recycle bin in vista
Jun 3, 2008 at 3:51 am
[...] recycle bin Icon ITsVISTA vista recycle bin missing – Tech Support Guy Forums __________________ …http://itsvista.com/2007/01/itsvista-tip-19-restore-your-vista-recycle-bin-icon/Vista recycle bin missing – Tech Support Guy ForumsSep 6, 2007 … Right, well i have come up stumps [...]
piglitlover
Jun 11, 2008 at 1:30 am
Thanks for the Restore Recycle Bin easy fix! Everyone else wanted me to into the registry and mess things up. Those of us who aren’t computer whizzes need things as easy as possible!!
mauiman3
Jun 21, 2008 at 12:23 pm
you are the man…..almost payed for a recovery program!!! found your site…..everything is fine…mahalo and aloha…..
DM
Jul 4, 2008 at 8:20 pm
your tip on restoring recycle bin icon that was deleted was extremely helpful. Keep up the good work.
Missing Recycle Icon On Desktop
Jul 16, 2008 at 7:46 pm
[...] this guide: ITsVISTA Tip 19: Restore Your Vista Recycle Bin Icon | ITsVISTA If checkmark for Recycle Bin, is in, remove it, OK your way out. Repeat the procedure, this time [...]
Ashley
Jul 19, 2008 at 9:14 am
I’ve tried every possible way to restore it, and it finally worked with this one THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Andy
Jul 27, 2008 at 4:07 am
cheers for the tip. will be more carefull in the future
Brandon
Jul 28, 2008 at 2:13 pm
hi its brandon,
i posted a comment a while ago and now i keep getting emails from here. it was all good until i left vista for my new b-e-a-utiful white 2.4ghz macbook with 2gb of ram and 160gb hd. how do i stop the emails?
laima
Aug 9, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Hi,
i tried to do all steps above and still could not fix the bug.Could you please tell me if i need to click recycle bin on desktop items before i switch the icons?Or it must be unclicked? i tried a few ways and still it did not work for me.
Please help!!!!!!
smaelz83
Aug 14, 2008 at 3:42 am
Thanks, 1st I’m confuse of the icon missing or the icon damage.. but now, everything work fine
amit
Aug 23, 2008 at 1:49 am
thank u sam.. i dont know u but i love u ( *kiss *kiss), u solved my recycle bin problem
philtbc
Sep 5, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Thanks Sam ! Been looking for this fix…
cheers mate
scanbix
Sep 7, 2008 at 2:40 pm
worked
krish
Oct 9, 2008 at 2:13 am
Thanks a lot!!
Jacko
Nov 18, 2008 at 10:50 am
that was fun! just a simple click. LoL.
big foot 11
Nov 20, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Oh my god,
thanks a lot!
Now i can finally go to sleep =)
Wolfzmage
Dec 18, 2008 at 4:32 pm
to Igor ; Oscar: Try updating your system????
User
Dec 19, 2008 at 12:03 am
Thank You!
Marcel
Dec 30, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Hey, you saved my day. I was able to place the Rycycle Bin back on my desktop in no time. Thanks for your help. Marcel
Analyst
Jan 16, 2009 at 11:44 am
Just a short comment for those who say their Recycle Bin status doesn’t show correctly, or those who have grayed-out icons, etc. The main problem users have with Vista is that they are not logged in or running as a user with administrator privileges. Open the control panel, double-click on Users, then check yours; simply make sure your ID has the box checked that makes you an administrator. Will solve many headaches in a number of areas.
ROOSY
Jan 20, 2009 at 2:53 am
THANKS..ALL THIS INFO WAS VERY HELPFUL….
carmen
Mar 9, 2009 at 6:58 pm
OO EM GEE THANK U ACCIDENTLY ERASED PICTURES AND I COULDNT FIND THE RECYCLE BIN!!!
THANK U !!
fun2me
Mar 11, 2009 at 8:23 pm
i’ve just recover my recycle bin icon back…thanks
fun2me
Mar 11, 2009 at 8:27 pm
i’m just happy to get the icon back. http://fun2me.net
Mayils
Mar 16, 2009 at 6:42 am
hi
when i am delete my notepad file, it showing discovring 0(zero) items. can u tell me the solution
Mike
Mar 17, 2009 at 6:17 pm
“when i am delete my notepad file, it showing discovering 0(zero) items. can u tell me the solution”
I am experiencing the same thing. PLEASE HELP. I tried everything. Want to see what i may have deleted by accident or replace what thought i didn’t want.
Elle
Mar 20, 2009 at 6:11 am
Wow thx alot!
Ismail
Mar 26, 2009 at 11:45 am
My vista recycle bin is always empty.
guster
Mar 26, 2009 at 11:47 pm
It works! What a stupid Vista bug.
Thanks….
Prostr8
Apr 3, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Tried to empty. Accidentally hit delete. Useful tip. Thank you.
Rachel
Apr 4, 2009 at 8:16 am
Thank you so much! (:
data recovery vista
May 5, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Emptied recycle been recovery can be easily done in Vista using Data Recovery vista software. Try the free demo now http://www.datarecoveryvista.org/
Ray
May 8, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Hey man what’s up. Thanks.
Gwendolyn
Jun 12, 2009 at 8:36 am
I followed the steps outlined to have my recycle bin appear and it still does not show on the desktop. I even ran the “Fix it” on microsoft.com. Why can’t I see my recycle bin and how do I get it back. I believe it is too far off the screen.
Dale
Jun 28, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Sounds like you just need to do some adjustments on your monitor to adjust your screen to fit the window. Alot of monitors are different but there should be buttons on the monitor itself that can help you adjust it.
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