Applies ToMicrosoft Windows XP Home Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional Windows Vista Enterprise Windows Vista Home Basic Windows Vista Home Premium Windows Vista Starter Windows Vista Ultimate Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Windows Server 2008 Standard

Symptoms

The Recycle Bin does not appear on the desktop in Windows Vista or in Windows XP. Therefore, you cannot use the Recycle Bin to do such tasks as restoring a file that was deleted. This article will help you make the Recycle Bin work again.

Resolution

To fix this issue in Windows Vista, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

  2. Click Appearance and Personalization, click Personalization, and then click Change desktop icons.

  3. Click to select the Recycle Bin check box, and then click OK.

Next steps

Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

To fix this issue in Windows XP, use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Use the program that removed the Recycle Bin to restore the Recycle Bin

Note If you used the TweakUI program to hide the Recycle Bin, follow these steps to restore the Recycle Bin to the desktop. If you did not use the TweakUI program, see Method 2 or Method 3.Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

  1. Click Start, click Run, typeregedit, and then click OK.

  2. If you are using the standard Windows XP Start menu

    1. Locate the following registry key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel

    2. In the right pane, right-click the following registry DWORD value, and then click Modify:

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

    3. In the Value data box, type0, and then click OK. (The TweakUI utility sets this value to 1 to hide the Recycle Bin icon.)

    If you are using the classic Windows XP Start menu

    1. Locate the following registry key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu

    2. In the right pane, right-click the following registry DWORD value, and then click Modify:

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

    3. In the Value data box, type0, and then click OK. (The TweakUI utility sets this value to 1 to hide the Recycle Bin icon.)

  3. Click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

Next steps

  • Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

Method 2: Edit the registry to restore the Recycle Bin

Note If the system administrator used a Group Policy setting to hide the Recycle Bin (or "All Icons") on the Desktop, see Method 3.Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in WindowsTo edit the registry to make the Recycle Bin icon reappear on the desktop, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.

  2. In the Open box, typeregedit, and then click OK.

  3. Locate the following registry key:

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

  4. Right-click the registry key that you located in step 3, point to New, and then click Key.

  5. Type {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}, and then press ENTER.

  6. Click the new{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} key that you created in step 5.

  7. In the right pane, double-click the(Default) entry.

  8. In the Edit String dialog box, typeRecycle Bin in the Value data box, and then click OK.

  9. Close Registry Editor.

Next steps

Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

Method 3: Use the Group Policy Object Editor to restore the Recycle Bin

If the system administrator used a Group Policy setting to hide the Recycle Bin or "All Icons" on the Desktop, you may have to contact the system administrator to restore the Recycle Bin icon. The system administrator can either use the Group Policy Object Editor (GPEDIT.msc) or manually remove the registry information (that was created through the Group Policy Object Editor) for the Recycle Bin to restore the Recycle Bin icon to the Desktop. Note The following procedures works only on Windows XP Professional. If your system is not Windows XP Professional, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

  • To use the Group Policy Object Editor to restore the Recycle Bin:

    1. Click Start, click Run, type GPEDIT.MSC in the Open box, and then click OK.

    2. Under User Configuration, clickAdministrative Templates, and then double-clickDesktop.

    3. Double-click Remove Recycle Bin icon from the desktop.

    4. Click the Setting tab, clickNot Configured, and then click OK.

  • To use Registry Editor to restore the Recycle Bin:

    1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

    2. Locate the following registry key:

      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum

    3. Click the registry key that you located in step 3, and then in the right pane, click the following registry DWORD value:

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

    4. On the Edit menu, clickDelete, and then click Yes.

    5. Close Registry Editor.

Next steps

Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

Workaround

If you cannot restore the Recycle Bin by using the resolutions that are listed in this article, work around this issue by creating a shortcut to the Recycle Bin:

  1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.

  2. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.

  3. Click the View tab, and then click to clear the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box.

  4. Click Yes when you receive the warning message, and then click OK to close the Folder Options dialog box.

  5. Click Folders on the toolbar.Note If Folders is not visible on the toolbar, point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click Standard Buttons.

  6. In the left navigation pane, under Folders, locate the Recycle Bin folder, and then drag the Recycle Bin folder to the desktop.

  7. On the Tools menu, click Folder Options.

  8. Click the View tab, and then click to select the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box. Click OK.

Note This procedure does not re-create the original icon. However, this procedure restores most of the features of the Recycle Bin. This includes the following:

  • Delete a file by dragging it to the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop.

  • Retrieve a file that you deleted by double-clicking theRecycle Bin icon on your Desktop, right-clicking the file that you want to retrieve, and then clicking Restore.

  • Empty the Recycle Bin by right-clicking the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop, and then clicking Empty Recycle Bin.

Note When you use these step to work around this problem, you cannot right-click the Recycle Bin shortcut to access the Recycle Bin Properties. To set properties for the Recycle Bin, follow these steps:

  1. Double-click the Recycle Bin shortcut on the Desktop. The Recycle Bin folder opens.

  2. In the upper-left corner of the Recycle Bin folder, right-click the Recycle Bin icon, and then clickProperties.

If this procedure did not fix the problem, you can contact support.

Cause

Several issues could cause this problem:

  • A third-party program was used to hide the Recycle Bin.

  • The TweakUI program was used to hide the Recycle Bin.

  • The registry information for the Recycle Bin was deleted.

  • A Group Policy setting was used to hide the Recycle Bin.Note Windows XP Home Edition does not support Group Policy.

References

For help with common system maintenance tasks in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft Web page:

Fix problems with common system maintenance tasks

Facebook LinkedIn Email
SUBSCRIBE RSS FEEDS

Need more help?

Want more options?

Discover Community

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders