Imagine that you are working on an important report for your company. Things are going great and you’ve finished the report, attached it in an email and hit send. A few seconds later your Windows machine crashes and when it reboots you notice that your recycle bin has disappeared. This is followed by a slight panic attack, but don’t worry this glitch can be fixed.
Here’s how you can restore your recycle bin if it goes MIA.
Windows 8, 7 and Vista
- Right-click on any blank space on your desktop.
- Select Personalize.
- Choose Change Desktop Icons from the left side of the window. It’s usually located just under Tasks.
- Click the box next to Recycle Bin.
- Click Apply.
The window that opens up also displays common desktop icons, and clicking the box beside these will put an icon on your desktop. You can also change an icon by selecting it from the box and clicking Change Icon. Pressing Restore Default will return the icons to their default picture.
Windows XP
For Windows XP users, the manual process is a lot more intensive. To make it easier, Microsoft developed a Fixit tool, that when clicked on will restore the recycle bin. You can find the tool here. All you have to do is click the button with the mechanic holding a wrench, saying Fix It. An app will download and run, and you should soon see your recycle bin reappear.
While you may feel a little silly, deleting the tool that allows you to delete, mistakes are often easily made. What you need to know is how to fix them. If you would like to learn more Windows tips, please contact us.
