Restore deleted Recycle Bin in Windows 10

Labels windows 10 tutorial

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 10, using the Control Panel UI, by creating a folder, by tweaking the Windows Registry, changing a Group Policy setting or using a Microsoft Fix It. The process is more-or-less the same for Windows 10, and Windows Vista too.
Restore deleted Recycle Bin

There are several reasons for the Recycle Bin to disappear from the desktop. The most common is that you deleted it yourself. 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 setting 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.

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.

Select the Recycle Bin check-box and click Apply.

The Recycle Bin icon will appear on your Windows desktop.

Create a folder

Righ-click on the desktop and select New folder. In the name field, copy-paste the following and hit Enter:


You will see the folder convert into the Recycle Bin!

For the geeks … You can also use the Windows Registry or the Group Policy to restore the deleted Recycle Bin.

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:



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.

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.