[Free] How to Recover Recycle Bin in Windows 10

People may be eager to how to recover Recycle Bin in Windows 10? Take it easy, wether the Recycle Bin icon is missing or the Recycle Bin has been emptied, you can find effective solutions to recover it on this page.

By @Kelsey Last Updated October 18, 2024

How to restore Recycle Bin in Windows 10?

 

A couple of days ago, I deleted some really important photos from my PC (Windows 10) and I'd like to retrieve them. Can I recover deleted files from Recycle Bin? How to recover Recycle Bin in Windows 10?

When you accidentally delete important data from Windows, where to find deleted files? Generally, Windows systems come with a recycle bin for users to temporarily save files deleted from the computer's hard drives. The Recycle Bin is a system folder and files stored in the Recycle Bin can be recovered or deleted permanently.

Some users may find that Windows 10 does not have Recycle Bin. This may be because the Recycle Bin is hidden from the desktop. You can get back the Recycle Bin icon by following the guide below.

How to recover Recycle Bin icon in Windows 10

1. Click on the Windows Start button > Select Settings > Choose Personalization.

2. Head to Themes and scroll through to tap Desktop icon settings.

3. Select the checkbox labeled Recycle Bin and hit Apply.

How to restore deleted files from Recycle Bin in Windows 10

For mistakenly deleted data, recovering files from the Recycle Bin should be the first file recovery method you should try. Here's a complete guide on how to recover deleted items from Recycle Bin on Windows 10.

1. Double-click on the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and locate the files you need to recover.

2. Right-click these files and select the Restore option. Then, the files will go back to the location where they were deleted.

How to recover Recycle Bin in Windows 10 after emptied

Recovering files from Recycle Bin may not work for you to take back data if the Recycle Bin is emptied or you have deleted files from the Recycle Bin. The caveat is that, in addition to the Recycle Bin being emptied, the following reasons may also cause files to be permanently deleted instead of being stored in the Recycle Bin:

  • You use the "Shift + Delete" shortcut or the command prompt to delete files.
  • Recycle Bin is disabled on Windows 10 or the deleted files exceed the capacity of Recycle Bin.
  • Files are deleted from a USB flash drive, SD memory card, or other external hard drives instead of local disks.

How to recover Recycle Bin deleted files in Windows 10? We are here to introduce 3 solutions that can help you recover files after the Recycle Bin has been emptied.

▶ Way 1. Recover deleted Recycle Bin files with data recovery tool

The quickest and most commonly-used way to recover Recycle Bin after emptying is to use a Windows data recovery tool. MyRecover is a professional data recovery wizard that can help you recover recently and permanently deleted files from emptied Recycle Bin with a few clicks.

MyRecover applies a combination of deep scan and quick scan methods to check your deleted and lost files, and it allows you to preview files before recovering them. This tool can work on not only Windows 10, but also Windows 7/8 and the latest Windows 11, and it is also compatible with various Windows Servers.

MyRecover
Powerful Data Recovery Software
  • Recover data regardless of loss situations. It supports you to recover files from various data loss scenarios including permanent deletion, accidental formatting, partition loss, system crash, virus attack, and so on.
  • Recover more than 200 types of files. It offers to restore documents, archives, audio files, photos, videos, and more.
  • Recover files at high speed. It provides a fast scanning speed and a high data recovery rate.
  • Streamlined and user-friendly interface. No need for any technical skills, you can recover lost files in 3 steps.

1. Download and install MyRecover on your PC. Run it, hover the mouse over the drive and click Scan to scan.

2. This tool will scan the selected disk or partition for all lost files. You can search the file names or use a file type filter to find the files you want quickly. Here are some filters you can use:

  • Name: Enter the relevant filename of your desired files to quickly locate them.
  • Date modified: Set the date (today, yesterday, last 7/30 days, etc.)
  • Size: Set file size (<128KB, 128KB~1MB, 1MB~512MB, etc.)

3. Tap recycle Bin in the left panel and select the items you want, click Recover x files, and browse a new location to save restored files.

🌟Tip:

With MyRecover, you can recover Recycle Bin files for free, up to 500MB. For more files, please consider upgrading to the advanced MyRecover edition.

▶ Way 2. Recover Recycle Bin deleted files with Previous Versions

Previous Versions is a Windows 10 built-in feature that allows you to recover lost, deleted, or damaged files using File Explorer. Previous Versions are usually copies of files and folders created automatically when you utilize the shadow copy service to configure a restore point for the Windows system.

How do get shift deleted files in Windows 10? You can use the following tutorial:

1. Open File Explorer on your PC and navigate to the folder where your files get lost.

2. Right-click on the folder and choose Restore previous versions.

3. Choose an appropriate version and click Restore to recover permanently deleted folders and files to the original location.

▶ Way 3. Recover files from emptied Recycle Bin with Windows backup

Another simple way to recover permanently deleted files in Windows 10 will be through a Windows backup file. If you have set up auto backups of Windows files with Backup and Restore, this tool will copy data to the storage space you chose regularly. When needed, you can easily get your deleted files back.

You can refer to the following guide to learn how to recover Recycle Bin in Windows 10 after empty using a Windows backup:

1. Type “control panel” in the search box and select Control Panel in the results.

2. Click on Backup and Restore (Windows 7) in the System and Security tab.

3. Select Restore my files in the Restore section, then locate your wanted files and recover them easily.

Tips to Avoid Losing Recycle Bin Files

There are some tips to avoid losing Recycle Bin files in the future.

▶ Adjust Recycle Bin Properties

By adjusting the properties of the Recycle Bin, you can set the maximum space usage of the Recycle Bin to prevent it from being emptied automatically due to insufficient space.

  • Right-click “Recycle Bin” and select “Properties” to set the maximum space usage of the Recycle Bin.
  • Also, you can select display a confirmation dialog box when deleting files.

▶ Backup important files regularly

To prevent important files from being deleted by mistake, it's a good habit to back up important files to an external storage device or cloud storage service regularly. This way, even if the Recycle Bin is emptied, you can restore files from the backup.

▶ UsGroup Policy to Restrict Emptying the Recycle Bin

Once Group Policy is enabled, users will be unable to delete files from the Recycle Bin, thus preventing accidental emptying.

  • Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
  • Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Desktop.
  • In the right pane, locate the option titled "Do not allow users to delete items from the Recycle Bin."
  • Double-click on this option and set it to "Enabled."
  • Click Apply and then OK.

Conclusion

Have you worked out how to recover Recycle Bin in Windows 10 after getting through the content above? You can easily recover data from Recycle Bin to get back your accidentally deleted files. If you have cleared the Recycle Bin, using powerful data recovery software like MyRecover is the fastest and easiest way to recover lost data on Windows.

FAQs

How to recover permanently deleted files from Recycle Bin Windows 10?
 
If your files are deleted from Recycle Bin permanently without any backup, professional data recovery software like MyRecover can help you.
How to recover deleted files from the Recycle Bin without software?
 
Without downloading extra software on your computer, you can try to recover deleted files from Windows File History. This way is suitable for you if you have created backups regularly.
How to recover deleted photos from the Recycle Bin after empty?
 
After the Recycle Bin is empty, you can only recover deleted photos from the backup or use a professional data recovery tool like MyRecover.