Recycle Bin Corrupt.. Can't Delete Stuff

Hey all,

I have a situation. I can't delete anything from the recycle bin. I tried different option, NONE seem to work (e.g. disk cleanup, CCleaner, manual delete).

I event went to CMD and entered "rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin"

No luck as I was given "Access Denied." Note that I'm running an administrator account.

Any other ideas?
Thanks!!!

One other thing..

when I go to explorer and type:

C:\$Recycle.bin

It shows an EMPTY folder!

Hmmm....

Second thing..

If i delete them individually, it'd disappear for a second, and come back..

 

If you get an access denied, its possible either the permissions are corrupt or the folder was locked in use by the system. Try deleting it from safe mode or from the recovery console.

 

instead of trying it with C:..
try it with D:
rd /s /q D:\$Recycle.bin

or try following these steps



First, you need to be able to view hidden files and folders as well as protected operating system files. To do this:

1. Click the Orb (Start button).

2. Select Computer.

3. Press the Alt button on your keyboard to get the Menu to appear.

4. Click Tools and select Folder Options.

5. Select the View tab.

6. Under Hidden files and folders, make sure the Show hidden files and folders radio button is selected. Make sure the Hide protected operating system files checkbox is unchecked.

8. Click OK.

Now you’re ready to work on the Recycle Bin.

1. Select your C:\ drive (if your PC is running more than one OS, select the drive That Windows 7 was installed on).

2. Find $Recycle.Bin.

3. Delete $Recycle.Bin by right-clicking the file and selecting Delete.

4. When asked if you want to permanently delete this folder, click Yes.

5. When asked to confirm the action, click the Continue button.

6. When the UAC prompt appears, click the Continue button.

7. When asked if you want to permanently delete this folder, click Yes.

8. The Delete File dialog will appear, check the Do this for all current items checkbox and click the Yes button. By clicking the checkbox, you will avoid having to confirm the deletion of each file.

After the deletion process has completed, restart your computer. When the system has restarted, the Recycle Bin will be fully functional once again. You can now go back to Folder Options and return the viewing of hidden files to their default settings.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. None of the suggestion works!

I just discovered that the $recycle.bin folder is also on my Mac partition.

Keep in mind, I'm running W7 on Boot Camp.

Anyway, it does the same thing on both partition. I delete it. It disappears from Explorer and reappears seconds later...

Is there anything else I can do before I do a clean install...


Thanks!

 

go into the system properties of the drive (virtual drive) and set the recycle bin as small as you possibly can.

it is generally not a good idea to try and short-circuit the windows property sheets and control panel items. even if you know command line and are happy with it (from macOS) windows will complain and complain.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions! I just figured it out.

I installed MacDrive and then I deleted those extra $Recycle.bin folders that were showing up on my Mac partition...

No clue how it got there, but it worked!

I was running Boot Camp 3.1... so I guess it only allowed me to read from the mac partition but not delete from it.

It's fixed!

 

glad you found a fix!
sorry we couldn't be of more help