Ways to hide and show Recycle Bin on desktop

Deleted files and folders usually proceeds to the Recycle Bin unless you press Shift + delete, this command will delete the files and folders permanently without going to your Recycle Bin.

Recycle Bin allows you to restore files and folders to their original path.

Note: Files and Folders deleted from your external device such us floppy, external drives and network drives won’t move to your Recycle Bin, those items are deleted permanently.

Question is what if you can’t find the Recycle Bin on your desktop. How would you restore the deleted files?

In this article we have prepared different ways on how to hide and show your Recycle Bin on your desktop.

Solution 1:

Modify the Registry value: (Tested on Windows XP)

 Hide Recycle Bin

1. Open the Registry Editor (Windows + R then type regedit and hit enter).
2. Navigate to the below registry location.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

1. Find and delete the below registry key.

{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

Note: By Deleting this value this will remove the Recycle Bin on your desktop. Before doing this operation, please backup your registry settings.

Show Recycle Bin

1. Open the Registry Editor (Windows + R then type regedit and hit enter).
2. Navigate to the below registry location.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace

1. In the right pane, right click and select New > Key
2. Type {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}, and then press ENTER.
3. Double click the newly created key and Edit the Value Data and type Recycle Bin.
4. Click OK
5. Close your Registry Editor.

Solution 2:

Tested on Windows XP and Windows 7

Using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)

1. Click Start, Run and type gpedit.msc and press enter.
2. Navigate to User Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Desktop.
3. Double click the Remove Recycle Bin icon from desktop.

You will be prompted by 3 options

Not Configured – this will disable the setting, meaning Recycle Bin is being displayed on your desktop.

Enabled – this will remove Recycle Bin icon from your desktop.

Disabled – same with Not Configured option.

Restart or log-off and log in again on your computer.

Solution 3:

On Windows 7

1. Click Start > Control Panel > Personalization
2. In the left pane click Desktop icons
3. Uncheck Recycle Bin if you want to remove it from your desktop, check if you want to show Recycle Bin on your desktop.
4. Click OK