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I can't send files to the recycle bin in Windows 10.

Anonymous
2021-03-07T02:22:08+00:00

When I delete files in Windows 10, it asks me if I want to permanently delete the file instead of sending it to the recycle bin. I've seen other posts in the forums about this but the only response seems to be to go to the recycle bin properties and select custom. That's not an option for me because that option is grayed out for both of my internal drives. How do I fix this?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Settings

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-03-08T20:54:30+00:00

    It was set to Not Configured, so I had to set it to enabled and then back to Not Configured and this fixed the problem. Thank you!

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. _AW_ 67,206 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-03-08T05:57:49+00:00

    If you've Win 10 Pro, type gpedit into search and click on Edit Group Policy.

    • Expand: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > then select File Explorer.
    • In the right hand pane look for: Do not move deleted files to the recycle bin
    • Double click on that line and if enabled, toggle to Not Configured. Then click Apply > OK
    • If not enabled, toggle to disabled, click Apply, you can then set it to default by selecting Not Configured, Apply > OK

    Otherwise you can remove the necessary value from the registry.

    To automate the procedure, right click on the start button and select Windows Powershell (Admin)

    Copy/Paste the following command and then press Enter:

    reg delete "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer" /f /v NoRecycleFiles

    Then sign out/in for the change to take effect.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2021-03-07T11:52:41+00:00

    Try these suggestions by Andre for Directly to see if they work for you:

    Open Start, type: CMD

    Right click CMD

    Click Run as administrator

    Type in at the prompt OR Copy and Paste these one at a time : (Hit enter after each)

    Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

    Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

    Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

    Also run the System File Checker utility:

    Open Start, type: CMD

    Right click CMD

    Click Run as administrator

    At the Command Prompt, type: sfc/scannow

    This will check for any integrity violations

    Restart your system

    Check your hard disk for any errors:

    Click Start

    Type: CMD, from the results, right click Command prompt

    Click 'Run as Administrator'

    At the Command Prompt, type: chkdsk /r /f

    Hit Enter

    When you restart your system, your computer will be scanned for errors and attempts will be made to correct them.

    source:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2021-03-08T04:54:17+00:00

    I did all these things but the options in the Recycle Bin Properties are still grayed out as shown in the pictures above. Here are the results of me running these commands in the Command Prompt.

    Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19042.804]

    (c) 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

    C:\Windows\system32>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth

    Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

    Version: 10.0.19041.746

    Image Version: 10.0.19042.804

    No component store corruption detected.

    The operation completed successfully.

    C:\Windows\system32>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

    Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

    Version: 10.0.19041.746

    Image Version: 10.0.19042.804

    [==========================100.0%==========================] No component store corruption detected.

    The operation completed successfully.

    C:\Windows\system32>Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

    Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

    Version: 10.0.19041.746

    Image Version: 10.0.19042.804

    [==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.

    The operation completed successfully.

    C:\Windows\system32>sfc/scannow

    Beginning system scan.  This process will take some time.

    Beginning verification phase of system scan.

    Verification 100% complete.

    Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

    C:\Windows\system32>chkdsk /r /f

    The type of the file system is NTFS.

    Cannot lock current drive.

    Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another

    process.  Would you like to schedule this volume to be

    checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N) y

    This volume will be checked the next time the system restarts.

    C:\Windows\system32>

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-03-07T03:05:57+00:00

    Hi Kevin

    How are you? I hope you are doing good.

    Welcome to Microsoft Community :) I am Juliet, an independent advisor and a Microsoft user like you :)

    It's my pleasure to help you today. I know how frustrating this may be for you but I'll do my best to help you :)

    May I ask what are the options that are not dimmed when you go to the Recycle properties?

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