How do I make the Recycle Bin appear on my desktop in Windows Vista or in Windows XP?

To fix this issue in Windows Vista, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization, click Personalization, and then click Change desktop icons.
3. Click to select the Recycle Bin check box, and then click OK.
   
   

Next steps

Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

To fix this issue in Windows XP, use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Use the program that removed the Recycle Bin to restore the Recycle Bin

Note If you used the TweakUI program to hide the Recycle Bin, follow these steps to restore the Recycle Bin to the desktop. If you did not use the TweakUI program, see Method 2 or Method 3.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

1. Click Start, click Run, type
   regedit, and then click OK.
2. If you are using the standard Windows XP Start menu
   1. Locate the following registry key:
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel
   2. In the right pane, right-click the following registry DWORD value, and then click Modify:
      {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
   3. In the Value data box, type
      0, and then click OK. (The TweakUI utility sets this value to 1 to hide the Recycle Bin icon.)
   If you are using the classic Windows XP Start menu
   1. Locate the following registry key:
      HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu
   2. In the right pane, right-click the following registry DWORD value, and then click Modify:
      {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
   3. In the Value data box, type
      0, and then click OK. (The TweakUI utility sets this value to 1 to hide the Recycle Bin icon.)
3. Click Exit to exit Registry Editor.

Next steps

• Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

Method 2: Edit the registry to restore the Recycle Bin

Note If the system administrator used a Group Policy setting to hide the Recycle Bin (or "All Icons") on the Desktop, see Method 3.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To edit the registry to make the Recycle Bin icon reappear on the desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type
   regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate the following registry key:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace
4. Right-click the registry key that you located in step 3, point to New, and then click Key.
   
5. Type {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}, and then press ENTER.
6. Click the new
   {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} key that you created in step 5.
7. In the right pane, double-click the
   (Default) entry.
8. In the Edit String dialog box, type
   Recycle Bin in the Value data box, and then click OK.
9. Close Registry Editor.

Next steps

Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

Method 3: Use the Group Policy Object Editor to restore the Recycle Bin

If the system administrator used a Group Policy setting to hide the Recycle Bin or "All Icons" on the Desktop, you may have to contact the system administrator to restore the Recycle Bin icon. The system administrator can either use the Group Policy Object Editor (GPEDIT.msc) or manually remove the registry information (that was created through the Group Policy Object Editor) for the Recycle Bin to restore the Recycle Bin icon to the Desktop.


Note The following procedures works only on Windows XP Professional. If your system is not Windows XP Professional, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

• To use the Group Policy Object Editor to restore the Recycle Bin:
  
  1. Click Start, click Run, type GPEDIT.MSC in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. Under User Configuration, click
     Administrative Templates, and then double-click
     Desktop.
  3. Double-click Remove Recycle Bin icon from the desktop.
  4. Click the Setting tab, click
     Not Configured, and then click OK.
     
• To use Registry Editor to restore the Recycle Bin:
  
  1. Click Start, click Run, type
     regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate the following registry key:
     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\NonEnum
  3. Click the registry key that you located in step 3, and then in the right pane, click the following registry DWORD value:
     {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
  4. On the Edit menu, click
     Delete, and then click Yes.
  5. Close Registry Editor.

Next steps

Check whether the problem is fixed. If the problem is fixed, you are finished with this article. If the problem is not fixed, you can try the procedure in the "Workaround" section.