Properties of the Recycle
Bin
by Richard
Rossbauer
There are many ways you can lose data and files. Improper
settings for your
Recycle Bin could be one of them.
Why the Recycle Bin? "Isn't
that were you put the stuff you want to get rid of, anyway?"
True. But many people often
have second thoughts about dumping the files they put there, and
go back to it in hopes of Restoring certain ones.
The properties of the Recycle Bin might not concern you as much
if you have a very large hard drive. Hard drives with very large
storage capacity are becoming more
affordable.
However, many people still use relatively small hard drives
with limited storage space and this information could be very
beneficial for them.
It truly
does not matter how much space you have on your hard
drive, the Recycle Bin will come into play at one time or
another. |
Files are deleted on purpose
or by accident. The amount of space you allow for your
Recycle Bin can make the difference between being able to
retrieve those files or not.
If you have allowed adequate space for the Recycle Bin you can
retrieve a file that was accidentally deleted.
To retrieve a deleted file, open the Recycle Bin, locate the
file deleted, click on the file you want to undelete and from
the File Menu, click Restore.
Deleted documents or files will remain in the Recycle Bin until
you clean out the Recycle Bin or until Windows claims that
space for newly deleted files.
Windows automatically sets aside 10% of your hard drive as
storage space for the files or folders that are deleted and sent
to the Recycle Bin. This means that if you have a 1000 MB hard
drive, then 100 MB will be used by the Recycle Bin.
If your hard drive is low on space and you do not create very
large documents, you might want to reduce the size of the
Recycle Bin and increase the available space on your hard drive.
How to set
the properties of the Recycle Bin
Right click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and click on
Properties. The Recycle Bin dialogue box will open up.
The top radio button will allow you to configure each of your
hard drives separately if you have more than one. The second
radio button creates one rule for all your drives. You will
notice an option to delete files without storing them in the
Recycle Bin.
There is a security feature that will ask you to confirm the
deletion. The slider control allows you to set the amount of
space you want reserved for the Recycle bin. By moving the
slider control you can either reduce or increase the size of the
Recycle Bin.
There is also a check box that you can check or uncheck to
prevent or activate the delete confirmation message from
appearing at deletion time.
By using these different controls, you can set your Recycle Bin
according to your needs and according to the size of your hard
drive. If you work on smaller documents you might want to reduce
the size of the Recycle Bin.
If, on the other hand, you work on database, video or graphic
files, it might be a good idea to increase the size of your
Recycle Bin to accommodate an accidental deletion.
You need to weigh your need for hard drive space and the
safeguarding of accidental deletion of files. Remember, if
your Recycle Bin is full, Windows will delete older deleted
files to make room for newly deleted files in the Recycle Bin.
To get more information about the Recycle Bin, go to Online
Help. Click the Start button, click Help, click Search and type
in Recycle Bin. You will then be able to read about shortcuts,
how to retrieve deleted files and much more. |