What is a Recycle Bin?

Recycle Bin is a folder that stores items that are deleted from your computer. It is a type of temporary storage, so users have a chance to restore deleted items before it is permanently removed.
For example, when files are accidentally deleted, they are moved to the Recycle Bin. Just by clicking on ‘Restore’, you can easily get back these deleted files from the Recycle Bin.

Reasons why files may disappear from the Recycle Bin

Deleted files do not always go to the Recycle Bin. In some cases, it may bypass the Recycle Bin and get permanently deleted. In these cases, you will not find the required files in the Recycle Bin.
Here are some situations under which files may disappear from the Recycle Bin.
  • When the files are permanently deleted using ‘Shift + Delete’
  • The Recycle Bin can handle files only of a certain size. So, when the deleted files are very large, they usually don’t go the Recycle Bin
  • If the Recycle Bin properties are set to directly remove files instead of sending to Recycle Bin
  • When files and folders in the Recycle Bin are hidden, you may not be able to see the files in it

Recommended Solutions to recover files that have disappeared from the Recycle Bin

1. Enable settings to show ‘Hidden folders’

One of the reasons why files are not displayed in the Recycle Bin could be because the files in it are hidden.
To fix this issue, you can enable the settings to unhide folders in the Recycle Bin. To do so,
  • Open File Explorer from the taskbar
  • Click View menu on the top
  • Click Options > Change folder and search options > View tab
  • In the Advanced Settings, select ‘Show hidden files, folders and drives’
  • Then click Ok to save changes
By doing this, you can get back access to the files that were hidden in the Recycle Bin.

2. Using Yodot File Recovery software

If the files were deleted permanently using ‘Shift + Delete’, or if the files were too large, they don’t get saved in the Recycle Bin. In this case, data recovery tools are your best option. Yodot offers reliable file recovery software to recover deleted files not in the Recycle Bin. It can recover all kinds of files like Word & Excel documents, PDF’s, notes, images, videos and audio files.
It has the ability to recover files:
  • That are not in the Recycle Bin because they were permanently deleted
  • That are not saved in the Recycle Bin due to large size
  • To recover files that are set to automatic deletion without going to the Recycle Bin

Measures to make sure deleted files are saved to Recycle Bin

In order to always save deleted files to Recycle Bin and prevent them from getting permanently deleted, you can take certain measures. Here are the 3 most common ways.

1. Ensure that the option ‘Move files to the Recycle Bin’ is disabled

If you don’t find the files in the Recycle Bin, it could be because ‘Don’t move deleted files to the Recycle Bin’ option is enabled. To disable this setting:
  • Right click on the Recycle Bin folder located on the desktop
  • Select Properties and click on the General tab
  • Unselect the option ‘Don’t move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted’

2. Increase the size of the Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin is usually set to occupy 10% of the drive size. But if you deal with a large number of files, you can increase the size of the Recycle Bin to accommodate all the deleted files using steps below.
  • Right click on the Recycle Bin and select Properties
  • Manually slide the pointer to any percentage you wish to set your Recycle Bin
  • Click Apply to save the changes

3. Increase the file size limit of your Recycle Bin

When the size of the deleted file exceeds the size limit your Recycle Bin can handle, then files will get permanently deleted. In order to avoid this, you can increase the file size limit using the steps below.
  • Right click on the Recycle Bin folder and select Properties
  • Under ‘Settings for selected location’, check the maximum size for deleted files
  • Increase the size according to your requirement to accommodate files of larger sizes

Conclusion

These methods described above will avoid permanent deletion of files and ensure that the deleted files go into the Recycle Bin going forward. But if your files are missing from the Recycle Bin and you are looking for a way to recover them, Yodot file recovery is the best option.
With the ability to recover several types of files and formats combined with a safe and secure approach to file recovery, it is the most recommended tool to recover deleted files/files missing from the Recycle Bin.
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