How To Fix Deleted Files not Showing in Recycle Bin Issue in Windows 10

In Windows 10, by default, when a file is deleted from the system, it is stored in recycle bin temporarily till the recycle bin reaches its maximum capacity. When the bin reaches its maximum capacity, the files in the bin are deleted in the First In First Out fashion. That is, the file that is old enough gets deleted first. Meanwhile, when the file is in the Recycle bin, if the user wants to restore the file, one can do so. This feature is especially useful when some files get deleted accidentally. Sometimes, you might notice that the files that are deleted from the system are not present in the Recycle bin. This can be because of the following reasons:

  • The size of the file that is deleted is larger than the free space available in the Recycle bin.
  • The user has pressed the Shift button while deleting the file
  • The file was deleted from external storage like USB, Network drive
  • The file was deleted from the command line like PowerShell or Command Prompt or Batch Script
  • The recycle bin was emptied after deleting the files.
  • Deletion Settings are set so as to bypass the Recycle Bin

For any of the above reasons the file that is deleted cannot be recovered back. However, we can take the below protective measures so that this mistake doesn’t happen again. Sometimes, the deleted files are not shown in the recycle bin just because the files are being hidden from the view. In this case, the files can be recovered

In this article, let us discuss different ways to fix this issue of Deleted files not being shown in the Recycle Bin Folder

Method 1: Increasing the size of Recycle Bin

The size of the recycle bin is usually around 5% of the total disk storage capacity. It is different for different disk locations (it is different for Local Disk C and Local Disk E). When the size of the file that is to be deleted is larger than the free space available in the system, a warning is shown to the user and when the user confirms, the file is deleted permanently from the system.It does not show in recycle bin. To avoid this case, we can simply increase the size of the bin. To do so, follow the below steps:

Steps for Increasing the size:

Step 1: Right-click on the recycle bin icon. Choose Properties.

NOTE: If you do not see recycle bin on the desktop, refer to How to open Recycle Bin in Windows 10 when it is not on Desktop



 

 

Right Click Properties

 

 

Step 2: In the Properties window,

  1. Choose the disk with respect to which the Maximum size of the recycle bin has to be changed. For example, Local Disk (F:) in the below image.
  2. Enter the required size in MBs
  3. Click on Apply
  4. Press OK

 

 

Recycle Bin Property Settings

 

 

Method 2: Changing the Deletion settings

Sometimes, the issue is not size, the property of the Recycle bin will be to avoid the files from being placed in the Bin. To avoid this,

Step 1: Open the Recycle Bin properties window as shown in Step 1, Method 1.

Step 2: In the Properties window that opens,

  1. Under Settings for selected location section, Untick the option Don’t move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted.
  2. Click on Apply.
  3. Click on OK.

 

 

Dontmove Files

 

 

Method 3: View Hidden Files in Recycle Bin

Step 1: Holding the keys Windows+e shortcut keys from your keyboard, open the Windows Explorer

Step 2: In the explorer window that opens, from the top menu options,

  1. Select the View tab
  2. Click on Options
  3. Select Change folder and search options

 



 

View Tab

 

 

Step 3: In the Folder Options window,

  1. Go to the View tab
  2. Under the Advanced Settings section, choose the option Show hidden files, folders, and drivers
  3. Under the Advanced Settings section, Untick the Hide protected operating system files(Recomended) option
  4. Click on Apply
  5. Finally, click on OK

 

Folder Options

 

 

Step 4: Restart your system. In the C:/ drive you will be able to see a $Recycle.Bin.Open this folder to see if the deleted files are here.

Method 4: Resetting the Recycle Bin

If none of the above methods work, there are high chances that the Recycle Bin in your system has been corrupted. In this case, you can consider resetting the recycle bin using the below steps.

Step 1: Pressing the shortcut keys Windows+r from the keyboard together open the Run window.

Step 2: Type cmd and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter  to open the Command Prompt with Administrator rights.

 

Cmd

 

 



Step 3: In the command prompt window that opens, just type the below command and hit Enter

rd /s /q C:$Recycle.bin

 

 

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This command would reset the Recycle Bin.

Step 4: Restart the System and check if the Recycle Bin works as expected.

 

That’s All. We hope this article has been helpful in solving the issue. Kindly comment and let us know if the issue has resolved. Also, let us know if you run into any issues.