In the Microsoft Windows operating systems, the Recycle Bin is a holding area for files and folders that are held before final deletion from a storage device.
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General
Microsoft introduced the Recycle Bin in the Windows 95 operating system. The Recycle Bin keeps some files that have been deleted, whether accidentally or intentionally. Whether a deleted file is put into the Recycle Bin depends on how it is deleted; typically only files deleted via the Explorer graphical interface (but not necessarily other Windows graphical interfaces such as file selection dialogs) will be put into the Recycle Bin; files deleted via the Command Prompt, or via operating system APIs are not. Users can review the contents of the Recycle Bin before deleting the items permanently. In previous Windows operating systems and in MS-DOS, undeletion was the only way to recover accidentally deleted files. The Recycle Bin holds data that not only lists deleted files, but also the date, time and the path of those files. The Recycle Bin is opened like an ordinary Windows Explorer folder and the files are viewed similarly. Deleted files may be removed from the Recycle Bin by restoring them with a command, or by deleting them permanently.
The Recycle Bin's icon indicates whether there are items in the Recycle Bin. If there are no files or folders in the Recycle Bin, then the icon resembles an empty wastepaper basket. Otherwise if there are files and/or folders the icon resembles a full wastepaper basket.
Prior to Windows Vista, the default configuration of the Recycle Bin was to hold 10% of the total capacity of the host hard disk drive. For example, on a hard drive with a capacity of 20 gigabytes, the Recycle Bin will hold up to 2 gigabytes. If the Recycle Bin fills up to maximum capacity, the oldest files will be deleted in order to accommodate the newly deleted files. If a file is too large for the Recycle Bin, the user will be prompted to permanently delete the file instead.
Physical storage locations
The actual location of the Recycle Bin depends on the type of operating system and file system. On older FAT file systems (typically Windows 98 and prior), it is located in Drive:\RECYCLED. In the NTFS filesystem (Windows 2000, XP, NT) it is Drive:\RECYCLER. On Windows Vista and Windows 7 it is Drive:\$Recycle.Bin folder.[1]
The Recycle Bin can be accessed via the desktop (it is the only icon shown by default on the Windows XP desktop) or Windows Explorer. The Recycle Bin, when accessed from the desktop, has different options and information than what Windows Explorer normally would have as seen from the physical location. In an NTFS environment, users cannot see deleted files in the Recycle Bin of other users[citation needed].
Files in the Recycle Bin are stored in its physical location and renamed as D<original drive letter of file><#>.<original extension>. A hidden file called info2 (info in Windows 95) stores the files' original paths and names. When the user views the Recycle Bin, the files are displayed with their original names. When the file is "Restored" from the Recycle Bin, it is returned to its original directory and name.[2] When the file is "deleted" by emptying the Recycle Bin, the space on the disk used by the file is designated as "free" without any changes being made to the file data itself. Future files will overwrite the data when they are saved on the disk. In other words, the data is not erased, but the address marking the data's existence is.
Deleting files
In Windows Explorer, files are moved to the Recycle Bin in a number of ways:
- By right-clicking on a file and selecting delete from the menu
- Selecting the file and pressing the delete key
- Selecting delete from the side menu in Windows XP
- Selecting the file and choosing delete from the File menu (in Windows XP Explorer)
- From a context menu command or some other function in a software application (usually configurable)
- By dragging and dropping a file into the Recycle Bin icon
It is also possible to bypass the Recycle Bin and directly delete a file by holding the SHIFT key while performing one of the above mentioned delete techniques.
Note that Windows is inconsistent about whether the Recycle Bin is used by other graphical interfaces that may appear similar to Explorer; in some cases, apparently identical interfaces may permanently delete a file.
Known issues
The Recycle Bin only stores files deleted from hard drives, not from removable media, such as memory cards and floppy disks. It also doesn't store files deleted from network drives.
Having a big disk and full Recycle Bin can considerably slow down deleting files. This can be resolved by emptying the Recycle Bin.
In versions prior to Windows Vista, the Recycle Bin icon cannot be deleted from the desktop like other icons. Deleting a registry key from the Windows Registry resolves this issue[citation needed]. The key varies with the version of the operating system.
In Windows Vista and later versions, it is not possible to view the cumulative size of multiple items in the Recycle Bin. Neither the status bar nor the Properties show the total size of items present in the Recycle Bin.
See also
References
- ^ http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2006/01/31/520225.aspx
- ^ "How the Recycle Bin Stores Files" (in English). Microsoft. 2007-01-19. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/136517/EN-US/. Retrieved 2008-09-08.
Resources
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