Recycle Bin is the place where users immediately search for any files or folders that they had deleted accidentally in Windows 10. However, what if this gets corrupted somehow and starts behaving erroneously. Well, this may happen, and when it does you won’t be able to permanently delete some or all files that exist here.
In most cases, users can’t delete files from recycle bin just because they don’t have the essential permissions to do so. Or, some third-party apps or services are blocking this operation in Windows 10. Whatever is the case, you may fix this trouble easily by following this guideline in detail –
How do I delete items from Recycle Bin in Windows 10
Deleting items from recycle bin is an easy task and it clears the bin instantly. However, at times, you may fail to get rid of certain files and folders. If that’s the case, try out these solutions one by one –
1. Log in as an Administrator and empty the Recycle Bin
If you are logged in as a user that doesn’t have administrative privileges, you won’t be able to empty the recycle bin especially the files that require Admin permissions. You need to first sign in as a System Administrator then only you can delete such files.
Related: How to empty Recycle Bin while signing out on Windows 10
In case you are using a personal laptop/desktop and you are the sole owner, try the next workaround –
2. Restore files from Recycle Bin
- First of all, try emptying the bin.
- Press Ctrl + A to select all the left items, make a right-click, and hit “Restore“.
- Doing so will restore all the files and folders at their respective locations.
- Browse to these locations next, select the file/folder, and press Shift + Delete altogether.
- When a warning message prompts, hit Yes to permanently delete the selected item.
If the problem is due to some issues related to the Recycle Bin, this method should work flawlessly. In case you get the error message “this item can’t be deleted”, follow the next solution.
3. Boot into the Safe Mode in Windows 10
There are times when you can’t delete files from Recycle Bin simply because some third-party apps or services are interfering with the system files. In such a scenario, you may boot into the Safe mode first and then try cleaning the respective items. Here’s how to proceed –
- Press Ctrl + S and start typing “System Configuration” in the text field.
- Double-click over the top result.
- When the System Configuration window launches, go to the Boot tab.
- Mark the “Safe boot” checkbox under Boot Options. The “Minimal” radio button gets auto-selected.
- Click Apply then OK.
- Restart your PC and Windows should boot into the Safe Mode next.
- Go to the Recycle Bin folder and delete the files you are having trouble with.
Note: When the items get deleted from the recycle bin, you need to boot into Windows 10 normally. To do so, open the System Configuration window again, and this time unmark the “Safe Boot” checkbox.
4. Run SFC Scan
Many a time, this issue arises just because of some system-level corruption on the computer. Either a few files have gone missing or have become corrupted. You may resolve this by using the tool – System File Checker. Here’s how to run this utility program –
- Launch Command Prompt as an Administrator.
- Type “sfc/scannow” and press Enter.
- The scan starts immediately afterward and repairs the missing/damaged system files.
- Usually, this scan completes in 15-20 minutes, this may take some more time depending on the disk size.
- Wait for the above scan to complete and when it does, restart your device.
From the next logon, you should be able to empty the recycle bin.
In case you don’t want to empty the recycle bin from time to time, you may schedule this using the Task Scheduler. If you do have any queries or suggestions, let us know in the comments below.
