Can't find something in the Recyle Bin

Question: I know I deleted a folder some time ago and I have never emptied my Recycle Bin (ever!) but it’s not in there. What happened to it?

Answer: If the items in your Recycle Bin take up more than ten percent of your hard disk space, Windows starts deleting the oldest items.

You can change this for the future by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin and clicking on Properties on the menu that pops up. Change the percentage to more than ten percent. Or, delete items from your Recycle Bin that you know you won’t ever come looking for again so there’s not so much stuff in there. You can’t get back the things Windows already deleted (unless you’re with the FBI or your best friend is a PC guru—like mine is:-)

Item won't go into Recycle Bin

Question: When I drag something to the Recycle Bin, the item just sits on top of the bin and doesn’t go in.

Answer: When you drag something to it, make sure that the Recycle Bin becomes highlighted (selected) as you move the item over it—before you let go of the mouse button. If the Recycle Bin isn’t selected when you drop the item, the item won’t go in. Remember you can also select the item and just press the Delete key to send it to the Recycle Bin.

Opening an item in the Recycle Bin

Question: I tried to open something that I placed in the Recycle Bin and nothing happened.

Answer: You can’t open an item while it’s in the Recycle Bin. You have to get it out of the Recycle Bin first. If you want to keep the item and want to file it back where it was, right-click on the item in the Recycle Bin and select Restore. If you just want to take a look at it, drag it out onto your desktop and open it. Then you can drag it back to the Bin. Note: If you Restore something after you’ve dragged it out to the Desktop and then back to the bin, the item will be restored to the Desktop because that’s the last place it was.