Why is deleting files to recycle bin so much slower than when using Shift+Del with Total Commander?

windows-7 windows recycle-bin total-commander

5,423

In terms of file system, deleting to Recycle Bin is more or less like moving. The files you delete are put into a special protected Windows directory, and potentially the whole data needs to be read and written in a other place.

On the other hand, deleting with Shift+Del, the file is simply erased from the file system. This is mush faster, as it's not about changing the whole file, but only removing the few bytes telling that a file is there.

Plus, concerning Total Commander, as explain here : http://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?t=14480:

This happens when your recycle bin is very full. TC deletes one file after the other in normal mode, which takes a while when the bin is quite full.
Try to delete with Shift+Del (bypassing the bin), or using the Explorer method.
Unfortunately this behaviour cannot be changed, because Windows doesn't report which files were deleted and which not when deleting them all in one operation...

5,423

sashoalm

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

sashoalm almost 2 years

When deleting a large directory with Shift+Del (no Recycle Bin), it happens an order of magnitude faster. Why is deleting to Recycle Bin so much slower on Windows? I'm on Windows 7.

Edit: Just realized that it's because I'm using Total Commander instead of Windows Explorer. Because I always use that program, I had never noticed that from Windows Explorer deleting a directory to Recycle Bin is instantaneous.
- Austin T French almost 11 years
  
  TC has alot of problems that keep me from using it. A lot of cool functionality, but it certainly has some poor code or lack of foresight with some of the odd things it does very badly compared to the explorer.exe
- sashoalm about 10 years
  
  @AthomSfere The quick filter is the killer feature that keeps me from using any other file manager. When you type just part of the filename, it will interactively filter only files containing the query, and it can have wildcards, too.
sashoalm almost 11 years

Hi, thanks for answering, but you beat my emergency edit - it seems the problem is with Total Commander (which I use for all file management). When I tried with Windows Explorer, deleting a file was instantaneous. The problem was with Total Commander.
Levans almost 11 years

@satuon : yes I saw, you can have a look at this : ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?t=14480 there are some explanations. But it's still linked to what I wrote.
Tog almost 11 years

satuon, didn't see your comments, apologies for the rollback
jay_t55 almost 11 years

As an extension to this question; Why is it [at times] more time-consuming to Empty the Recycle Bin than it is to Shift+Del?
Levans almost 11 years

@ĈħőşęņŎńę what do you mean ? Clicking "Empty the recycle Bin" is slower than "Maj-Del" its contents ?
Scott Chamberlain almost 11 years

@ĈħőşęņŎńę you should ask your own question, but the answer is they are fairly the same, it is just you are often deleting more at once when emptying the bin. More work to do = more time.
sashoalm about 10 years

@Levans I just found out you can add Win95Delete=1 to force Total Commander to use Explorer for delete. I've put a suggested edit to add that to your answer, can you approve it?