Talk:Recycle Bin (Windows)

Added a picture of a full and empty recycle bin under Windows XP... feel free to shift around the image as nessesary, as I'm not too good with image formatting yet. --P. B. Mann 06:58, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

"DCxxxx.ext"
Any idea what the "Dc" stands for? SigmaEpsilon → &Sigma;&Epsilon; 03:49, 16 May 2006 (UTC)


 * I'd guess the D is for Deleted and the C is for the C drive, but the former is just a guess. --Alynna 01:52, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

You're wrong, it doesn't. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.237.142.157 (talk) 16:35, 30 January 2009 (UTC) ==the article needs to tell you alternate ways to access the recycle bin if the icon is missing from the desktop isnt there a way to open recycle bin options without clicking on the icon, something you can put in the run box? whats the command for it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.108.114.107 (talk) 01:17, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

"Folder Size"
Is it worth mentioning that if you have the Details view chosen in Windows Explorer and have the "Size" column enabled the Recycle Bin folder will show the total accumalative size for deleted folders and all their subcontents?

In other Explorer windows the Size column only-ever displays totals for Files, never Folders.

I can confirm this behaviour only under Windows XP: not tested on 2000, Vista or 7. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.118.56 (talk) 17:26, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

"Undelete for Windows XP"
I would like to read about undelete possibilities; there are programs able to recover after deletion from the recycle bin.

Try Recuva. Completely free for both home and corporate use, and easy to use. Standalone version available that doesn't require install. As with most software of this nature you must be an Administrator for it to work. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.145.118.56 (talk) 17:28, 29 December 2009 (UTC)

"How Physically Delete A File"
Added a warning notifying naive users that doing the actions listed in this section will format the hard drive and cause total data loss of all files. The origional just showed the steps, with the heading of "How Physically Delete a File". Will also be renaming that heading to "How to Erase a Hard Disk (Formatting)". Feel free to delete the entire section if needed.

FYI, this article was linked to Fark.com on October 6th, 2006 by an annon. user. -- Cascadia4 10:34, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

How to Erase a Hard Disk (Formatting), How to Remove the Recycle Bin
I removed these on the basis of WP:NOT, including Wikipedia is not a publisher of original thought (1) and Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information (4). Formatting doesn't seem entirely relevant to this article, isn't the best method to delete files, and doesn't do much in the field of file wiping. The second might be acceptable if it were reworded in a more neutral tone. ~ Eidako 00:37, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Not only in Windows
GNOME and KDE also have recycle bins. This article should be rewritten in an OS-independent way. - Sikon 13:14, 19 February 2007 (UTC)
 * I moved it to Recycle bin (Windows) and rewrote the article so it tells about the concept itself, not a particular implementation. - Sikon 10:39, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Linux Trash folder seems MUCH LESS worthy a recycle bin than Windows Recycle Bin...
Ahem, the Trash folder in Red Hat (and other Linux desktop environments?) seems to lack every advantage of Windows Recycle Bin. 'Trash' seems to be just another folder, only special because a cascading menu item and the delete key can send files and 'folders' there. It does not remember when the file was deleted, so you can't organize the trash by date and time of deleteion. It does not remember where the file came from, so there is no 'Restore' command for files -- you have to figure out where to put it. 'Trash' cannot even have two files of the same name. It is a virtually useless commodity. This was one of my first horrifying discoveries when contemplating escaping from Windows to Linux. I thought that Linux was a modern operating system -- silly me. The level of discomfort just considering living with a dumb 'Trash' folder is huge. I haven't stumbled onto much comment about this. I've mentioned it to Linux users and they seem surprised. There are HUGE differences of functionality between the recycle bins of operating systems. Whiner01 04:36, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Update, the Trash folder is much improved in Freespire 2.0. It has much of the expected functionality. Surprise: no fanfare. Whiner01 10:32, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

TweakUI
Why doesn't the "Removing the Recycle Bin Icon ...." section mention that removing the bin icon can also be done with TweakUI? It's much less work. --John R. Sellers 07:05, 10 April 2007 (UTC)

Vista bin size
There is a whole paragraph on the default and maximum sizes of the recycle bin on windows, but twice says "except for vista", without saying what vista does do. Mathwhiz90601 23:43, 23 May 2007 (UTC)

What is the difference between $recycle.bin and recycler?
What is the difference between $recycle.bin and recycler? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.93.87.81 (talk) 21:11, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Recyclebinempty.PNG
Image:Recyclebinempty.PNG is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 07:56, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Comment from an IP Editor
== the article needs to tell you how to access the recycle bin if the icon is missing from the desktop can someone please write that —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.108.114.107 (talk) 01:19, 12 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Please read wp:NOT. Wikipedia is not a 'How to' manual, for example. You can access the recycle bin via My Computer. - 220.101 talk\Contribs 19:29, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Empty recycle bin sound effect
I know it's not a big deal, but how about mentioning the "paper crumpling" sound effect that's heard when you empty the recycling bin? It's kind of cute. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Studio60onthesunsetstrip (talk • contribs) 08:52, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Source
A random parson asking on yahoo is NOT a good source for claiming that " there is some speculation ". 193.44.6.146 (talk) 18:57, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

Point of this article
What's the point of this article? As far as I can see, the only major differences between this implementation of the Trash metaphor and others, is that it records where it comes from (letting you restore), and when it was trashed. Why on Earth can't this be included at the very most as a subtitle of the main recycle bin article? Everything else is either trivia on Windows' implementation (how much it can hold? Where you can find it?) or instructions on how to restore it if you accidentally delete it (this is an encyclopedia, right?).

I call for a merger 217.155.206.150 (talk) 14:47, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

False statement in the "General" section
The statement that "files deleted via... operating system APIs are not [recycled]" is not necessarily true. The SHFileOperation function provided in the shell32.dll library (a part of the windows SDK API), for example, allows programmers to send the file/folder to the recycle bin rather than deleting it. (see this forum thread for a specific example)

The statement that operating system APIs don't allow the recycling of files is not true, and I have edited the article to reflect a more accurate generalization. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Darthmgh (talk • contribs) 02:46, 4 January 2011 (UTC)