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Whether you call it trash, garbage,
junk, or refuse, it always seems to accumulate — even on a computer. Old
files take up space on the hard drive and may make it difficult to find the
ones you really need.
The answer to the computer trash problem is the Recycle Bin. Whenever you
delete a file, it's automatically sent to the Recycle Bin. You can identify
the Recycle Bin from it's little trash can icon. Microsoft introduced it in
Windows 95, but credit for its origination must be given to Apple, however,
since the Macintosh trash can has been part of the Mac operating system
since its inception.
It's easy to delete files that you no longer need, and there are basically
three ways to delete them:
Highlight the file and press the Delete (Del) key;
Right-click on the file and choose Delete from the menu; or,
Drag the file to the Recycle Bin.
When you delete items by moving them to the Recycle Bin, Windows displays a
message confirming the deletion: "Are you sure you want to send <filename>
to the Recycle Bin?" If you're tired of clicking an answer to that question,
you can configure Windows XP to skip the confirmation message whether or not
you're using the Recycle Bin.
1. Right-click the Recycle Bin, and then click Properties.
2. In the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, clear the Display delete
confirmation dialog check box, and then click OK.
The Recycle Bin is a holding place for deleted files. It's convenient
because it's like taking the garbage to the trash bin outside the house.
Deleted files remain in the bin until it's emptied. Although you don't
usually go rummaging through the trash bin at home, when working on the
computer, there are times when a file is inadvertently deleted and it's nice
to know that you can look through the Recycle Bin to retrieve it.
To retrieve a file from the Recycle Bin, simply double-click on the Recycle
Bin icon. You will then see all the documents, files, and shortcuts that
have been deleted. When you see the file you want to retrieve, right-click
on that file and choose Restore and the file will return to the place it was
originally stored. You can also drag the file to wherever you want to place
it.
Files remain in the Recycle Bin until you empty it by right-clicking on the
icon and choosing Empty Recycle Bin. You can also use the Disk Cleanup
utility to clean your hard drive and empty the Recycle Bin. To access Disk
Cleanup, click on Start - (All) Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Disk
Cleanup. Once the Recycle Bin is emptied, the addresses of all the files
sent to it are lost and those files can only be retrieved with a special
disk recovery program.
For this reason, many users never empty the Recycle Bin, but the data in the
Recycle Bin takes up space on your hard drive, so you will want to
occasionally empty the trash.
Here are a few other helpful things to know about the Recycle Bin:
By default, the Recycle Bin is set to reserve up to 10% of your hard drive
space for its use. So, if you have a 10 Gigabyte drive your Recycle Bin is
occupying a whopping 1 Gigabyte of hard drive space. To change the amount of
space allocated, right-click on the Recycle Bin, choose Properties, and use
the slider to increase or lessen the amount of reserved space.
Remember that if the Recycle Bin fills up, items may be permanently deleted
rather than being stored in the bin.
The Recycle Bin may work differently with networked computers. For instance,
when you delete a file from another computer on your network, depending on
your network and computer settings, that file is often permanently deleted
without being sent to the Recycle Bin.
TIPS FOR IT'S USE:
If you've deleted a file or program, but haven't yet closed the directory
window or deleted another file, there is a quick way to retrieve the file or
program without using the Recycle Bin. Just right-click the mouse, and a
pop-up menu will appear. From this menu, select Undo Delete. Or, if you're
using Windows 98, click the Undo icon near the top of the window. Another
option is to select Edit from the top of the menu, and then click Undo
Delete from the drop down window. But if you deleted another file after
deleting the file you want to restore, you will need to retrieve it from the
Recycle Bin, because only the last file deleted can be retrieved with this
shortcut.
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If you care to delete a file permanently, and don't want it to go to the
recycle bin, then simply hold down the SHIFT key on your keyboard while you
press the DELETE key (or use one of the other methods to choose delete).
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If you want skip using the recycle bin altogether, and just have everything
that you delete be permanently deleted -
1. Right-click the Recycle Bin,
and then click Properties.
2. Place a check next to: Do not move files to the Recycle Bin
Of course, this is not recommended as it is difficult to recover permanently
deleted files, thus the reason for the creation and use of the recycle bin
in the first place.
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WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE PERMANENTLY DELETED A FILE.
Let's say you either remove an item from the recycle bin by accident, or you
use one of the tips found above for permanently deleting an item without
using the recycle bin and you need the item back. What should you do then?
The first thing to do is to immediately shut down your computer normally.
Then call Raven Computer Services at 269-668-4040 and we can usually recover
these deleted files. Do not turn your computer back on as it may lesson our
chances of getting a full recovery.
RAVEN COMPUTER SERVICES
269-668-4040
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