In the Microsoft Windows operating systems, the recycle bin is a holding area for files that are to be deleted from a storage device.

General

The recycle bin was introduced in Windows 95. Before, undeletion was the only way to recover accidentally deleted files. Recycle Bin holds data that not only lists deleted files, but also the date, time and the path of those files. The recycle bin is opened like a regular Windows Explorer folder and the files are viewed similarly. Deleted files may be removed from the recycle bin by restoring them with a command.

The recycle bin's icon indicates whether or not something is in the recycle bin. If the icon is empty, there are no files in the recycle bin. If there are objects in the recycle bin on the icon, there are files in the recycle bin.

By default, the recycle bin is configured to hold 10% of the total capacity of the hard disk it's in. For example, on a hard drive with a capacity of 20 gigabytes, the recycle bin will hold up to 2 gigabytes. If the recycle bin fills up to maximum capacity, the oldest files will be deleted in order to accommodate the newly deleted files. If a file is too large for the recycle bin, the user will be prompted to permanently delete the file instead. The maximum possible size of the recycle bin is 3.99 gigabytes.

The same feature exists in other operating systems under a different name, for example in Apple's Mac OS and various Linux distributions, it is named 'Trash'.

Physical storage locations

Files in the recycle bin are stored in C:\RECYCLED on FAT filesystems or in the RECYCLER folder of the disk the file was deleted from on NTFS filesystems. [1] The recycle bin is accessed via the desktop. (In fact it is the only icon shown by default on the Windows XP desktop.) The recycle bin, when accessed from the desktop, has different options and information than what Windows Explorer normally would have as seen from the physical location. In an NTFS environment, users cannot see deleted files in the recycle bin of other users.

Deleting files

Files are moved to the recycle bin in a number of ways:

• By right-clicking on a file and selecting delete from the menu
• Selecting the file and pressing the delete key
• Selecting delete from the side menu in Windows XP
• From a context menu command or some other function in a software application (usually configurable)
• By a computer virus
• By dragging and dropping a file into the recycle bin icon

To delete a file bypassing the recycle bin (for immediate deletion), press and hold the SHIFT key while deleting the file. This deletes the file without sending it to the Recycle Bin.

How the recycle bin works

Files stored in the Recycle Bin in its physical location are renamed as Dxy.ext where x represents the drive name such as "c", "d" and so on, y a sequential number starting at 1 and ext being the file's original file name extension. The file names are kept as is when viewed from the main recycle bin. A hidden file is created, without an extension, called "info2". This file stores the original files' paths and file names so when the file is removed from the recycle bin and returned to its original directory, the original file name is kept as is. When the file is "deleted" the space on the disk is designated to be erased over by whatever files then are saved on the disk. For instance, if you have a picture deleted on the recycling bin, it is still physically stored on the disk until other data is written over it. In other words, what is deleted is the *address* of the file, not the file itself.

See an explanation here: http://www.winguides.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=brdNewTweaks&Number=94271&page=1&view=expanded&sb=9

Here is an example of the kind of software that can recover files even when they have been *permanently* deleted (this is for illustration only, there are probably better programs than this example): http://empty-recycle-bin.qarchive.org/

How Physically Delete A File

Start Menu/Run cmd hit enter at the command prompt type the following: format C: answer Y

Resources

• Microsoft Knowledge Base article "How the Recycle Bin Stores Files"