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hello everyone--
using microsoft XP. accidentally sent some pretty large files to recycle bin but some did not show up on the recycle bin list (my recycle storage was set to only accept 10%). since sending there in the first place was an accident, i wanted to restore. was able to restore items i saw on list. what could have happens to other items when they don't fit in the bin? are they deleted? is it possilbe to find and restore them? appreciate any help. thanks.

they are deleted. You need to use a file recovery program like undelete plus.
The longer you wait the worse the chance for recovery.

ALWAYS back up to a secondary device regularly.
Use of a program like GOBACK is also a smart move.

yea dude, if the recycle bin can't hold the file then it just deletes them, sorry.

If the files are too large for Recycle Bin, Windows marks them as deleted immediately. Usually, it prompts before doing this so you are aware. I'm surprised it didn't. Anyhow, although they are marked as deleted, they may still be recoverable provided you haven't defragged or resued that disk space yet (finger's crossed) Now there are file recovery utilities out there, both freeware and commercial. The freeware ones usually suck so if these files are important, buy one of the commerical ones.

If you don't want to lose important files, you should be using an image back up utility. They are inexpensive and easy to use. They backup everything and best for disaster recovery. I recommend either Acronis True Image or Symantec Norton Ghost.

thanks for all of the responses. i did find a few recover programs (one being Active File Recovery by EASEUS). when i run the program i can see about 80% of the lost files (most were photos and videos). only problem is that the movies were originally about 150-200MB each. they show up in the recovery search as .ink files at apporx (a much less) 450B each. what is an .ink file and how is it opened? is there any way to convert the file back to full size?
makes no sense to fully purchase the program if the files are just blips of their former selves. thanking you all in advance again for your responses.
p.s.
have not saved much or turned my computer off since i lost the info. worried about an overwrite until i'm sure i've done everything i can.

sorry to tell you, BUT it's already too late if you've been using that system
to access/post this thread

the file space that was occupied by the deleted file(s) will be reused
(over written) when new files are created (like accessing a URL and all those graphics being displayed) or even when files get update (as in made larger by adding data).

you can try the UNdelete route, but don't expect 100% recovery.

thanks jobeard.
is that the case even if the items came from an external hard drive?

regardless ! the issue is ANY write i/o can over write the file.