Recycle bin in XP not keeping files I deleted

[ericdeeson]

This is XP home on a three-month-old netbook with no other problems.

When I delete a file it didn't appear in the re-cycle bin - after following advice in an earlier thread to mess with c:\recycler, it does: but the contents disappear after stand-by.

I do not have any Norton software.

Please help - frantic of Birmingham UK!

 

[gbhall]

Some software does not understand the recycle bin. Not many, but some. I assume you are deleting via Windows Explorer?

You are not pressing shift key at the same time as selecting delete?

What have you done about options telling Windows what to perform at shutdown and standby. I can't immediately find anywhere in normal windows where things can be set like 'delete all temporary windows files', but there are registry-tweaker programs that do odd things like that.

Is a netbook quite a reduced version of Windows, with a small hard drive? It might actually need to be quite agressive about returning unwanted space to the system.

Have you run drive cleanup, or set it to run automatically at boot time? Check your scheduled programs, if any.

How much free space have you got, have you deleted all unnecessary temporary files, emptied recyle bin, and defragmented? Have you run chdsk /f to check for file corruption?

How much space have you allocated to System restore, to page file, to internet cache in IE?

 

[ericdeeson]

Many thanks for [rompt and thoughtful response, M g b Hall! I respond in UPPER CASE

I assume you are deleting via Windows Explorer? A MINORITY OF THE TIME: MORE OFTEN VIA SOFTWARE IN USE, SUCH AS WORD, ADOBE, EMAIL....

You are not pressing shift key at the same time as selecting delete? ONLY FOR DELETING MULTIPLE FILES

What have you done about options telling Windows what to perform at shutdown and standby. NOTHING RELEVANT AS FAR AS I AM AWARE - AND THIS IS MY 20TH OR 30TH COMPUTER AND I'VE NEVER HAD THIS BEFORE!

I can't immediately find anywhere in normal windows where things can be set like 'delete all temporary windows files', but there are registry-tweaker programs that do odd things like that. NOTED - I DON'T HAVE ANY REGISTRY-TWEAKER PROGRAMS AND SURELY FILES IN THE BIN AREN'T TEMPORARY?

Is a netbook quite a reduced version of Windows, with a small hard drive? It might actually need to be quite agressive about returning unwanted space to the system. NO - STANDARD XP HOME AND >100GB, LITTLE USED, WITH BIN MAX SET AT 10%

Have you run drive cleanup, or set it to run automatically at boot time? Check your scheduled programs, if any. NO - NO HOUSKEEPING ROUTINES SET TO RUN AUTOMATICALLY AND NONE YET USED MANUALLY (NEW MACHINE)

How much free space have you got, PLENTY: TENS OF GB

have you deleted all unnecessary temporary files, emptied recyle bin, and defragmented? Have you run chdsk /f to check for file corruption? NONE OCF THOSE

How much space have you allocated to System restore, to page file, to internet cache in IE? NONE IN EACH CASE TO MY KNOWLEDGE (AND I DON'T USE IE)

Many thanks again, my friend - Eric

 

[gbhall]

You have given some useful info. Unfortunately I have others

Are you aware that pressing shift at the same time as delete key is how to tell Windows you do NOT want the deleted file to enter the recycle bin?

Is this problem a new occurrence or has it always been that way?

You original post talked in the singular -- 'a file, it didnt', so I am not quite sure if you should have said 'any file, they dont' ?

If indeed no deleted files are entering recycle bin, then I would first right-click recycle bin and in properties reverse the normal behaviour and reboot. I.e. set on the flag "Do not move files to the...." setting.

Test some deletion. Then change the property back to normal (off) and reboot again. Any change?

If no change there, then look at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;136517 where certain simple procedures are described. BUT may or may not refer to XP.

From another site :

The \recycler directory has "hidden" and "system" attributes set, so you don't see it in Windows unless you've selected to "Show hidden files and folders" and unselected "Hide protected operating system files" in Windows Explorer's folder options (it's in Tools menu).

Once you see the recycler directory, try this:

Rename it to something else, like recycler2. Then delete a file (create an empty text document or something, for example). Explorer should create a new \recycler directory. Then delete recycler2. Maybe this helps.

It might also be an infection. Hopefully, you can follow the best practice to check this https://www.techspot.com/community/...lware-removal-preliminary-instructions.58138/ If it is an infection, you could use system restore to go back to when all was working, or finally, you are looking at a reinstall of Windows.

Hope it's a simple thing though....

 

[strategic]

Just want to rule out the obvious here...
Right-click "recycle bin" and check to make sure the option
" Do not move files to the Recycle Bin, Remove files immediately when deleted "
is not checked.
While you're there, you can confirm the maximum size of the recycle bin

 

[ericdeeson]

Thanks, gbhall and strategic!

To the latter - yes, neither of these settings is the problem, but you are right to raise them.
===
To gbhall - again, thanks for a load of thoughts, to which I comment as before LIKE THIS.

Are you aware that pressing shift at the same time as delete key is how to tell Windows you do NOT want the deleted file to enter the recycle bin? NEW TO ME, BUT IT DOESN'T WORK IN XP (WHICH IS WHAT i'M USING THIS MOMENT)

Is this problem a new occurrence or has it always been that way? IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY: DELETED FILES DO NOT STAY VERY LONG IN THE BIN. SORRY MY WORDING WAS CONFUSED BEFORE - THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR THREE MONTHS AND CURRENTLY THE MACHINE CONCERNED IS MY MAIN ONE!

THE OTHER IDEAS NOT YET TRIED.

If indeed no deleted files are entering recycle bin, then I would first right-click recycle bin and in properties reverse the normal behaviour and reboot. I.e. set on the flag "Do not move files to the...." setting. Test some deletion. Then change the property back to normal (off) and reboot again. Any change?

If no change there, then look at ... where certain simple procedures are described. BUT may or may not refer to XP.

From another site :

 

[ericdeeson]

Noi luck with the other two tips, friends - the Microsoft info does not apply to XP and the tip from the second site about renaming RECYCLER doesn't work as one is not allowed to rename or delete this file.

I really appreciate all this - I wondxer if my copy of XP is corrupted somehow, in which case is that so for all this particular netbook? (The only other people I know with the machine are both on holiday.)

Thanks - Eric

 

[gbhall]

The trick with renaming recycler probably requires (in addition to what the tip said about making it visible, not a system file and not read-only) that you do it in safe mode.

The thing about pressing shift as well as delete does work in XP, provided your recycle bin is behaving as it should......

It is entirely unlikley that all netbooks are affected. This is likely a virus effect.

 

[ericdeeson]

Thanks again for a speedy, albeit somewhat depressing, response!

I've also spent hours on other help sites - this fault is quite widely reported for XP, but I'm yet to find a solution whose instructions both make sense to my ancient brain (first work with computers in the very early 70s) and works!

I really appreciate your support!

Cheers - Eric

 

[gbhall]

Ok, well according to my XP-pro, the folder c:\recycle contains TWO sub-directories
S-1-5-~1 and S-1-5-~2 however, both are hidden, system folders and cannot be seen, even if the necessary options are taken to see them. Super-hidden in other words. However, I am able to see them with a very old Dos program.

The actual long folder name is a very long string of numbers, and the content is desktop.ini and INFO2. So this is actually almost as described in the Microsoft link I gave previously, but clearly, MS does not want anybody to know about this !!!

Desktop.ini contains
[.ShellClassInfo]
CLSID={645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

which is in turn a reference to the ClassId in the registry at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID (dont you just love MS stupid ways of doing things)

So this link http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm at item 64 right-hand column, lets you download a file restorecyclebin.reg which saved anywhere on your PC, then double-clicked, will write the values I find in my registry. This might solve your problem. With nothing to lose, you could try it.

But if the problem is a corruption in file INFO2 (as the MS link says), then the option is there to delete INFO2 just as described in that link. Notice they do say the file can be INFO or INFO2, and they raise the command del INF* which would delete either. It seems in XP you probably have to stop explorer before a delete will be allowed. Press ctrl-alt-del to raise taskmanager, and kill explorer.exe.

An even simpler method is just boot off something else, like a bootable Linux CD and just delete C:\recycler from Linux.

 

[ericdeeson]

Many thanks, but ...

Many thanks, guys, but this is getting far too deep for me. It's thirty years since I was adept in deep delving: and I haven't a clue any more, while the multitude of grey hairs prevents my even trying to learn....

Sorry, but -
I repeat: my new XP Home machine has never kept deleted items in the recycle bin for more than an hour or two (and often not even for a minute) - how can I get
ETHER the recycle bin working as it should
OR a recycle bin that works as it should?!

No offence meant, people! - Eric (with apologies for delay: been away)

 

[Gravity]

maybe you can try re installing ur windows...