How can I get to the recycle bin without the desktop icon in windows 7?

Question

I hate having anything on my desktop. I usually remove all the icons from the desktop, even the recycle bin. Occasionally I need to access the recycle bin, but having to re-enable the icon just to open it, is annoying.

I was hoping I could use the windows search bar built into the start menu but typing "recycle" or "recycle bin", but that returns nothing.

How else can I access the recycle bin without using the desktop icon?

Solution 1

Open Explorer (Windows Logo + E) then type "Recycle bin" in the address bar.

That should work just fine, else add Recycle bin to your favorite locations in Exlorer.

Or press the Windows logo and type: explorer.exe ::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} Which you can of course assign a hot-key to any arbitrary keyboard key or key combination.

Solution 2

Make sure you've spelled it correctly. I just click "Start" > "Computer", and typed rec... then Recycle Bin was shown underneath

I can also type "Recycle Bin" as a whole and it goes straight there.

Solution 3

Sure, just type this into the search box:

shell:RecycleBinFolder

Solution 4

You could pin a Recycle Bin shortcut to the Taskbar:

1. In a folder of your choice, create a shortcut to
   %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder
2. Change the icon (found in C:\Windows\system32\imageres.dll)
3. Right-click the shortcut and select 'Pin to Taskbar'

Solution 5

How about a recycle bin in your Computer:

For this create a new text file and paste the following in it by using your notepad:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\Namespace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]

Save it as .reg file and execute it.

To remove your recycle bin from your Computer again, use:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00


[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\Namespace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]

instead.

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Comments

[rmontgomery429]

Thsi is only slightly slower than the Windows Key quick jump to an address bar, but still a decent answer.

[Pacerier]

@Ivo, Please elaborate on ::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} . What is it all about and how is it different from shell:recyclebinfolder?

[Pacerier]

Why do you use %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder instead of recycle bin or c:\$recycle.bin\recycle bin?

[cxw]

Very nice! On my Win8.1 system, the icon showed up in "Devices and drives."

[antak]

Typing "Recycle bin" in the address bar isn't locale agnostic. I just tried it and it results in a Bing search for that phrase opening. shell:recyclebinfolder works though.

[Thomas W]

No shortcuts or menu to get there, if you don't have the icon on your desktop. What a ridiculous excuse for an operating system.