windows "Super Hidden Files", what gives?!

[dzjunction]

i just discovered XP super hidden files.....

out comes a hidden RECYCLER folder on my c: containing 5.6 gigs of who knows what...

it doesn't look like it will let me delete it and i have no idea what these files that are in this folder are or where they came from.

1) why can't i delete them?
2) why is there something there in the first place?
3) how can i delete it?

i think these super hidden files are for recovering, but i understand that a lot of stuff gets left behind and are useless, like temp internet files/records etc....

can anyone shed more light on how i can get my 5 gigs back from xp?

thanks!

 

[iss]

Since that si not a standard feature of XP. it was probably icreated by a program you installed.

 

[altheman]

the RECYCLER folder is the Recycle Bin. By default, XP allocates an outragous amount of space to the Recycle Bin. to reduce it, right click on Recycle Bin on the desktop, and reduce the amount you want allocated to the bin.

 

[Liquidlen]

Super hidden files are default for every Windows install . You can Google it if you really want to know more .
You really want to be careful messing with them other than the type of advice Atheman gave you . Microsoft considers them Hands off for the End user. In their eyes, it is for your protection.

 

[dzjunction]

yeah, well i wasn't gonna touch anything, but def i think the RECYCLER folder should be deleted.

i found that if i take whatever is in that folder, copy or restore it back to the harddrive, then delete it from there and empty recycle bin..... it goes away....

 

[altheman]

dzjunction, if you delete the recycler folder, you could mess up your os. it was super hidden for a reason. I wouldnt mess about with it if I was you. if you want to reduce the space it takes, then see my first post.

 

[WinDoWsMoNoPoLy]

Or you could set the recycling bin to not move files to the recycling bin. But then if you delete something, it's just gone.

 

[rehevkor5]

There's the potential that some type of malware has set up a warez folder under the RECYCLER directory and is using it to store data. Without actually seeing your computer my advice would be: Browse around and try to locate any suspicious files in the folder. Make sure you are running an anti-virus application. Run AdAware.