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Recycle Bin and Deleting Files

Delete a file or folder

To delete a file or folder:

• Right-click the file or folder that you want to delete, and then click Delete. [pic] If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

You can also delete a file or folder by dragging it to the Recycle Bin or by selecting the file or folder, and then pressing Delete.

Notes

• When you delete a file or folder from your hard disk, it's not deleted right away. Instead, it's stored in the Recycle Bin until the Recycle Bin is emptied. To permanently delete a file without first moving it to the Recycle Bin, select the file, and then press Shift+Delete.

• If you delete a file or folder from a network folder or from a USB flash drive, it might be permanently deleted rather than being stored in the Recycle Bin.

• If a file can't be deleted, it might be in use by a program that's currently running. Try closing the program or restarting your computer to fix the problem. For more information, see Why can't I delete a file or folder?

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Why can't I delete a file or folder?

Here are answers to some common questions about problems you might encounter when deleting files and folders.

What might prevent me from deleting a file or folder?

If you don't have the proper rights (or permissions) for a file or folder, you can't delete it. If you didn't create the file, you might not be able to delete it, even if it is stored in the Public folder. If that's the case, you need to ask the owner of the file to delete it. Also, you can't delete a file (or the folder that contains it) if the file is currently open in a program. Make sure that the file isn't open in any program, and then try to delete the file or folder again.

What does it mean if I try to delete a file and I see an error that the file is in use?

It means that the file is being used by a program. To delete the file, you need to find the program that the file is open in and close both the file and the program. If you close the program, but the file still won't delete, restart your computer. You can view all programs that are currently running on your computer in Task Manager.

Note

If you're not the only person logged on to the computer, another person might be using the file.

Sometimes after I delete all the files in a folder, the folder still remains. How do I delete the folder?

Close all open programs and then try to delete the folder. If this doesn't work, restart your computer and try to delete the folder again. Most likely, the folder wasn't deleted because another program was using a file that was in the folder.

Permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin

When you delete a file, it's usually moved to the Recycle Bin so that you can restore the file later if necessary. For information about recovering a file, see Recover files from the Recycle Bin.

To permanently remove files from your computer and reclaim any hard disk space they were using, you need to delete the files from the Recycle Bin. You can delete individual files from the Recycle Bin or empty the entire Recycle Bin at once.

1. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking the Recycle Bin on the desktop.

2. Do one of the following:

o To permanently delete one file, click it, press Delete, and then click Yes.

o To delete all of the files, on the toolbar, click Empty the Recycle Bin, and then click Yes.

Tips

• You can empty the Recycle Bin without opening it by right-clicking the Recycle Bin and then clicking Empty Recycle Bin.

• You can permanently delete a file from your computer without sending it to the Recycle Bin by clicking the file and then pressing Shift+Delete.

Recover files from the Recycle Bin

When you delete a file from your computer, it's actually just moved to the Recycle Bin, where it's temporarily stored until the Recycle Bin is emptied. This gives you an opportunity to recover accidentally deleted files and restore them to their original locations.

To recover files from the Recycle Bin

1. Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking the Recycle Bin on the desktop.

2. Do one of the following:

o To restore a file, click it, and then, on the toolbar, click Restore this item.

o To restore all of the files, make sure that no files are selected, and then, on the toolbar, click Restore all items.

The files will be restored to their original locations on your computer.

|Recovering an item from the Recycle Bin |

Notes

• If you delete a file from a location not on your computer (such as a network folder), the file might be permanently deleted rather than stored in the Recycle Bin.

• If the Recycle Bin doesn't appear on your desktop, see Show or hide the Recycle Bin.

Show or hide the Recycle Bin (WMV)

The Recycle Bin usually appears on the desktop. If you don't see the Recycle Bin, don't panic—it might just be hidden.

To show or hide the Recycle Bin on the desktop

1. Click the Start button [pic], type desktop icons into the search box, and then click Show or hide common icons on the desktop.

2. In the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, do one of the following:

o To hide the Recycle Bin, clear the Recycle Bin check box.

o To show the Recycle Bin, select the Recycle Bin check box.

3. Click OK.

Note

Even when the Recycle Bin is hidden, deleted files are still stored there temporarily until you choose to permanently delete them or recover them. For more information, see Permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin or Recover files from the Recycle Bin.

Change the Recycle Bin settings

You can change the settings of the Recycle Bin to suit the way you work. For example, if you rarely empty the Recycle Bin because you want to save your discarded files, you can increase the maximum storage size of the Recycle Bin. You can also turn off the delete confirmation dialog box that appears every time you send files to the Recycle Bin, or even choose not to move files to the Recycle Bin but instead permanently delete them from your computer.

For more information about permanently deleting files, see Permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin.

If you don't see the Recycle Bin, it's probably hidden—see Show or hide the Recycle Bin.

To set the maximum storage size for the Recycle Bin

If you like keeping all your deleted files in the Recycle Bin as a safety net, you can increase the maximum storage size for the Recycle Bin.

1. On the desktop, right-click Recycle Bin, and then click Properties.

2. Under Recycle Bin Location, click the location of the Recycle Bin you want to change (likely your C drive).

3. Click Custom size, and then, in the Maximum size (MB) box, enter a maximum storage size (in megabytes) for the Recycle Bin.

4. Click OK.

To permanently delete files instead of moving them to the Recycle Bin

You can choose to bypass the Recycle Bin when you delete something. This option is not recommended for most users.

1. On the desktop, right-click Recycle Bin, and then click Properties.

2. Under Recycle Bin Location, click the location of the Recycle Bin you want to change (likely your C drive).

3. Click Don't move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted., and then click OK.

To turn off the delete confirmation dialog

If you don't want to receive a message each time you send a file or folder to the Recycle Bin, you can choose to not get the messages.

1. On the desktop, right-click Recycle Bin, and then click Properties.

2. Under Recycle Bin Location, click the location of the Recycle Bin you want to change (likely your C drive).

3. Clear the Display delete confirmation dialog check box, and then click OK.

To change how the Recycle Bin looks

The Recycle Bin has two different appearances: one when it's empty, and one when it has files or folders inside. You can customize the appearance of the Recycle Bin by changing one or both of these icons.

|Comparison of the Recycle Bin when empty (left)|

|and full (right) |

1. Open Personalization by clicking the Start button [pic], and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type personalization, and then click Personalization.

2. In the left pane, click Change desktop icons.

3. In the list of desktop icons, click Recycle Bin (full) or Recycle Bin (empty), and then do one of the following:

o To change the Recycle Bin to a new icon, click Change Icon. Select an icon from the list, and then click OK.

o To change the Recycle Bin to its original icon, click Restore Default.

4. Click OK.

Note

If you have multiple hard drives, partitions, or an external hard drive connected to your computer, each location will have its own Recycle Bin settings. When changing settings in the Recycle Bin Properties dialog, under Recycle Bin Location, make sure you select the location you want to change.

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