Can’t Find Recycle Bin? How to Restore it in Windows 10/7
In one of our previous tutorials, we know that it is possible to recover files from Recycle bin in regular manner or even after emptying it. However, a lot of people have reported that the Recycle Bin icon on Windows desktop is missing due to mistaken deletion or unknown error. As a result, people cannot restore files in the Recycle bin with one click. Don’t worry. In this article, we are going to tell you what to do when you can’t find Recycle bin shortcut in Windows 10/8/7 desktop.
How to Troubleshoot Recycle Bin Missing
A few reasons could lead to Recycle bin missing in Windows 7/8/10. The key to find a working solution is to troubleshoot the problem from the very first. Please ask yourself two questions as below.
How did it happen? Windows Recycle bin usually disappears due to wrong operations or apparent changes to the computer system. Therefore, try to remember what has happened exactly before you cannot find or open Recycle bin. The answer will decide which method to choose.
Are you in Tablet Mode? Windows 10 is designed to work on both desktop and mobile devices. If your computer is switched to Tablet mode, the icons will not show on the desktop. To switch back to normal mode, go to Settings > System > Tablet mode, then turn on Desktop mode.
When you’re ready, please keep reading to find a solution to restore Recycle bin to your computer desktop.
Method 1. Fix “Can’t Find Recycle Bin” in Desktop Icon Settings
If you cannot find Recycle Bin after reinstalling Windows OS or reset the desktop settings, then this method will possibly work for you. 4 easy steps will restore Recycle bin back to your desktop.
- Step 1. Go to Settings > Personalization > Themes.
- Step 2. Scroll down to find and open Desktop icon settings link.
- Step 3. On the pop-up window, make sure to check the box next to Recycle Bin.
- Step 4. Click Apply > OK, then check the status on the desktop.
Control panel is also a frequently-used feature since Windows 7, but it is hidden in Windows 10. By applying the solution above, you can also create Control Panel shortcut on your Windows 10 desktop.
Method 2. Re-create Recycle Bin in Windows 7/8/10
In case you mistakenly deleted Recycle Bin icon and Method 1 doesn’t work for you, you may need to re-create it from protected operating system files.
- Step 1. Open Windows File Explorer, click View tab on the top bar, then choose Options.
- Step 2. On the pop-up window, open View tab.
- Step 3. Select Show hidden files, folders, or drives and untick the box next to Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
- Step 4. Click Apply > OK to save the changes.
- Step 5. In File Explorer, go to This PC > C: drive > $Recycle.Bin.
- Step 6. In the folder, right click on Recycle Bin and choose Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).
To avoid mistakenly deleting important system files, please repeat Step 1-3 and tick the box Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
Note: If you urgently need to recover deleted files which cannot be found in Recycle bin, don’t hesitate to try with iReparo Data Recovery. It will help you recover lost data from formatted SD card as well as computer local disk, external hard drive, USB flash stick, etc.
Method 3. Repair Recycle Bin with Command Prompt
Sometimes you can’t find Recycle bin in Windows 10 because a system file is corrupted. To recover Recycle bin missing in computer, we need to apply a command to scan and fix the possible system errors.
- Step 1. Click Start button, type Command Prompt, then right-click on it and choose Run as administrator. Click Yes if prompted with UAC.
- Step 2. In Command Prompt window, type the following lines and hit Enter one by one.
- DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
- DISM.exe /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
- sfc /scannow
- Step 3. Check if Recycle Bin appears on your desktop.
This command is very useful in fixing common system issues in Windows 10/7 in addition to Recycle bin missing. You can find more useful tricks of Command Prompt in Windows.
Final Thought
When you can’t find Recycle bin shortcut on Windows desktop, it is not necessarily that the files are gone permanently. With the methods introduced in this tutorial, most people will restore Recycle bin back to the desktop shortcut and either recover deleted files or delete them permanently. Don’t forget to share this article to your friends if you find it helpful and let us know your thoughts in the comment.
