If you have deleted the Recycle Bin icon by mistake from your desktop, then this post will show you how to restore Recycle Bin in Windows 11/10 using the Control Panel UI, creating a folder, tweaking the Windows Registry, changing a Group Policy setting or using a Microsoft Fix It.
Restore accidentally deleted Recycle Bin
There are several reasons for the Recycle Bin icon to disappear from the desktop. The most common is that you deleted it yourself and you can’t find the Recycle Bin now. Maybe you clicked on Delete instead of Empty Recycle Bin! Alternatively, some third-party software could have hidden the Recycle Bin as a result of which some system settings may have become corrupted. You could restore it using the UI, by creating a folder or by using the Windows Registry, Group Policy or a Fix It.
1] Using UI
Right-click on the desktop and select Personalization.
Now in the left side pane, you will see Change desktop icons. Click on it to open the Desktop Icon Settings box.
In Windows 11 or Windows 10, you may open Settings > Personalizations > Themes and click on the Desktop icon settings link to open the panel.
Select the Recycle Bin checkbox and click Apply.
The Recycle Bin icon will appear on your Windows desktop.
2] Create a folder
Right-click on the desktop and select New folder. In the name field, copy-paste the following and hit Enter:
Recycle bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
You will see the folder converted into the Recycle Bin!
For the geeks … You can also use the Windows Registry or the Group Policy to restore the deleted Recycle Bin.
3] Using Windows Registry
Run regedit to open The Windows Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
Right-click the registry key > Key, type the following and hit Enter:
{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Now click this new {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} key you created, and in the right pane, double-click the (Default) entry. Now in the Edit String dialog box, type Recycle Bin in the Value data box.
A value of 0 will show the Recycle Bin icon whereas 1 will hide it.
Click OK and exit.
Read: How to Display Recycle Bin in Computer or This PC folder
4] Using Group Policy
If your version of Windows has the Group Policy Editor, do the following.
Run gpedit.msc to open the Local Group Policy Editor. Select User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Double-click Desktop. Now double-click Remove Recycle Bin icon from the desktop and click on the Setting tab.
This setting removes the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop, from File Explorer, from programs that use the File Explorer windows, and from the standard Open dialog box. This setting does not prevent the user from using other methods to gain access to the contents of the Recycle Bin folder. To make changes to this setting effective, you must log off and then log back on.
Disabled or Not Configured will show the icon. Selecting Enabled will hide it. Make your selection, click Apply/OK and exit.
How to recover files deleted from Recycle Bin in Windows?
If a file has been deleted from the Recycle Bin, there is only one way to recover it. You must have to use a data recovery application to get the job done. For your information, there are multiple apps available for this purpose. For example, you can use CloudBerry Backup for Windows desktop, Wondershare Data Recovery Tool, etc.
How do I get my Recycle Bin back that I accidentally deleted?
There are four ways to get your Recycle Bin back if you accidentally deleted it. That said, you can use the UI option or Desktop Icon Settings, Local Group Policy Editor, Registry Editor, etc. However, if nothing works, you can create a folder and name it Recycle bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} to create the Recycle Bin manually.
I hope this helped!
