Recycle bin is the folder which contains all the files or anything that gets deleted by the user temporarily. Unless it is permanently deleted, all the deleted files / folders remains in the recycle bin for a specific number of days and after which it gets permanently deleted. But if you want to recover the deleted files / folders back, then you can get it back from recycle bin. In this article, we are going to show you how to open recycle bin in Windows 11 in many ways.
Method 1: Open Recycle Bin from Windows Search
You can directly launch the Recycle Bin from the Windows Search.
Step 1 – Press the Windows key+S buttons together or tap the Windows button from the keyboard.
Step 2 – Type Recycle in the search box, and tap the Recycle Bin from the search results.
This is the fastest way to open the Recycle Bin.
Method 2: Using Run Dialogue box
Step 1: Open Run dialogue box. Press Windows + R keys together on your keyboard.
Step 2: Then, type the code there and hit Enter key.
shell:RecycleBinFolder
This will load the Recycle bin on your system.
Method 3: From Recycle Bin Icon on Desktop
Step 1: Go to Desktop. Press Win + D keys together on your keyboard.
Step 2: Locate the Recycle bin on the desktop.
Step 3 – Double-click on recycle bin.
Recycle bin will be then launched on your system.
NOTE:– If the Recycle Bin icon is missing on your desktop, then kindly follow these steps below.
1) Press the Win+R keys at once. Next, paste this code there and click OK to load up the Desktop Icon Settings panel.
desk.cpl ,5
Otherwise, you can directly open it following this path ⇾
Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop icon settings
2) In the Desktop Icon Settings window, check the Recycle bin checkbox as shown below.
3) Then, click on Apply and OK to make changes.
Now you can find Recycle bin icon on the desktop of your system.
Method 4: Using Command line tool
Step 1: Open any command line tool such as Command Prompt or PowerShell.
Press Win + R keys together on your keyboard.
Type cmd and hit Enter key.
Step 2: In the Command Prompt, type this code and hit Enter key.
start shell:RecycleBinFolder
This will open up the Recycle bin folder on your system and this above command works in PowerShell application also.
Method 5: From File Explorer
Step 1: Open File Explorer
Press Win + E keys together on your keyboard.
Step 2: In the File explorer
In the address bar, just before Quick access, there is a dropdown arrow icon.
Please click on it and select Recycle Bin from the dropdown list as shown in the below screenshot.
Recycle bin folder will show up on your laptop.
NOTE – On Windows 11, the Quick Access is defined as ‘🏠︎Home’. Tap the drop-down beside the 🏠 and scroll down to open up the Recycle Bin.
Method 6: Pin to Start menu
Step 1: Go to your Desktop page.
Step 2: Press Win + D keys together on your keyboard.
Step 2: Right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and tap Pin to start from the context menu.
Step 3: Press Windows key on your keyboard.
Scroll the Pinned apps in the start menu window.
You will find Recycle Bin icon in the Pinned apps section as shown below.
This method is also useful to open Recycle Bin folder on your system.
Method 7: Using Keyboard Shortcut
Step 1: Go to Desktop. Then, press Win + D keys together on your keyboard.
Step 2: Then, right-click on the Desktop and select New > Shortcut from the context menu.
Step 3: In the Shortcut window, type the code in the location of the item field.
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder
Then, Click Next to proceed.
Step 4: Then, give the shortcut an appropriate name, like RecycleBinShortcut.
Step 5: Once done, Click Finish.
Step 4: After the RecycleBinShortcut icon appears on the Desktop
Right Click on it and select Properties from the context menu as shown below.
NOTE: You can press ALT + ENTER keys together after clicking on RecycleBinShortcut icon to open the properties window.
Step 5: In the Properties window, click on Shortcut key field and press any letter key on your keyboard to set the shortcut.
It will automatically append the CTRL + ALT to the letter key you pressed.
Then, Click Apply and OK to make changes.
So to open the recycle bin folder, you just need to press CTRL + ALT + R keys together on your keyboard.
NOTE:- You can set any letter key for shortcut to open recycle bin.
Method 8: Add Recycle Bin to ‘This PC’ using Registry Editor
NOTE – Editing your system registry is not always safe. You must create a system registry backup before you proceed to the later instructions. Here is a complete guide on How to back up your system registry on Windows 11, 10.
Step 1: Open Registry Editor- Press Win + R keys together on your keyboard.
Type regedit and hit Enter key.
Then, Press Yes on the UAC prompt window to continue.
Step 2: In the Registry Editor
Copy and Paste the below path in the address bar and hit Enter key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace
Right Click on the Namespace registry and select New > Key from the context menu.
Step 3: Then, Rename the newly created key to {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} and hit Enter key.
Step 4: Open File Explorer
Press Win + E keys together on your keyboard.
Then, Click on This PC in the left pane of the window.
You will notice that Recycle Bin icon has appeared before C: drive as shown below.
Method 9: Drag the Recycle Bin and Pin to Taskbar (Check compatibility)
You can drag the Recycle Bin icon directly to the Taskbar to pin it to File Explorer.
Step 1 – Locate the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop. If you don’t have it there, follow the steps of Method 2.
Step 2 – You must have a File Explorer icon on the taskbar. If you don’t have one, open a File Explorer instance. Then, right-click the File Explorer icon on the taskbar and tap Pin to taskbar to pin it there.
Step 3 – Now, simply drag the Recycle Bin icon to the File Explorer, and it will be pinned to the File Explorer.
Step 4 – Now, you can easily access the Recycle Bin by right-clicking on the File Explorer, and open it up from the pinned Recycle Bin option.
NOTE – This method works on the Windows 10. But, it may not work in on Windows 11, like W11 Build 26100.
Method 10: Pin Recycle Bin to Quick Access
You can easily pin the Recycle Bin to the Quick Access panel in the File Explorer.
Step 1 – Press the Win+E key combination to open File Explorer.
Step 2 – Next, go to the Home option. Later, tap the 🏠︎Home (or Quick Access in Windows 10) drop-down option and open up the Recycle Bin from there.
Step 3 – Now, while the Recycle Bin panel is open, right-click the Home button on the left sidebar and tap Pin the current folder to Quick Access option.
This will pin the Recycle Bin permanently on the sidebar of your File Explorer page.
That’s all guys.
Hope you found this article helpful and informative.
Please leave us comments below if you have any queries.
Thank you for reading!