Quick Answers
There are a few common reasons why you may not be able to empty the Recycle Bin in Windows 10:
- You don’t have permission to delete the files – Make sure you’re logged in as an administrator or the file owner
- One or more files are in use or open – Close any programs that may be using files in the Recycle Bin
- The Recycle Bin is corrupted – Try restarting your PC or running the sfc /scannow command
- There’s a bug or glitch – Update Windows and your drivers to the latest versions
The Recycle Bin in Windows 10 provides a convenient place to store deleted files in case you need to restore them. However, sometimes you may run into issues when trying to permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin by emptying it. Some common error messages you may see include:
- “This file can’t be deleted right now. Try again later.”
- “Can’t empty Recycle Bin. An error occurred while deleting files.”
- “Access denied. Cannot delete [filename].”
If you are unable to empty the Recycle Bin in Windows 10, don’t worry. In most cases, it’s easily fixable. This guide will walk you through the most common reasons why you can’t empty the Recycle Bin and provide solutions to help you delete files permanently.
Ensure You Have Administrator Permissions
One of the most common reasons for being unable to empty the Recycle Bin is not having the right user permissions. By default, only users with administrator access can permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin. So if you’re logged into a standard or guest user account, you may receive errors when trying to empty the Recycle Bin.
To check your account type:
- Open Settings > Accounts.
- Under “Your info,” check the Account type.
If it does not say Administrator, then you will need to either switch to an admin account, or have an admin temporarily provide access. To add permissions:
- Open File Explorer and right click on the Recycle Bin.
- Select Properties > Security tab > Edit.
- Click Add under Group or user names.
- Type in your username and check Names.
- Grant your account Full control permissions.
This will allow your standard user account to empty the Recycle Bin. Just be sure to remove the permissions after you’re done.
Close Programs Using Files in the Recycle Bin
Another common culprit that prevents emptying the Recycle Bin is having a program or process open that’s still using one or more of the deleted files. For example, if you delete a Word document but still have Word open, it may maintain a lock on that file preventing permanent deletion.
Before emptying the Recycle Bin, close any programs that may have open or recent files deleted there. For Word or Excel documents, close the entire Office suite to be sure. For other file types, check the open applications in Task Manager and stop any that could be connected.
You can also use a utility like Unlocker to detect which specific files are in use. Once you close the associated programs, you should then be able to empty the Recycle Bin.
Restart Your Computer
If closing programs does not resolve the issue, try restarting your computer. A simple reboot will release any locks on in-use files. Make sure to save your work first, then restart your PC and check if you can empty the Recycle Bin again.
Restarting will also end any Windows processes and services that could be interfering with deleting files. Upon restarting, Windows will reload all processes to a clean state, often fixing Recycle Bin errors.
Run CHKDSK
If your Recycle Bin is still unable to be emptied after a restart, the next step is checking for disk errors using CHKDSK. Corruption in the file system can prevent proper deletion of files. Running CHKDSK scans and repairs drive errors that may be causing Recycle Bin issues.
To run CHKDSK:
- Open an elevated Command Prompt.
- Type chkdsk C: /f and hit Enter to scan drive C.
- Type Y to confirm and reboot your PC.
- CHKDSK will scan and repair errors upon restart.
With drive corruption fixed, you should then be able to empty files from the Recycle Bin.
Use SFC Scan
If CHKDSK does not resolve the issue, you can try using SFC (System File Checker) to scan for Windows system file corruption. Damaged system files can sometimes cause Recycle Bin errors.
To run SFC scan:
- Open an elevated Command Prompt.
- Type sfc /scannow and hit Enter.
- SFC will scan Windows system files and repair any problems found.
- Restart your PC once finished and try emptying the Recycle Bin again.
Using SFC to replace corrupted files often resolves issues deleting Recycle Bin files if CHKDSK does not.
Update Your Drivers
Outdated or corrupt drivers can also sometimes interfere with properly emptying the Recycle Bin. Driver conflicts can cause glitches that prevent file operations from working correctly.
Try updating drivers for hardware like your hard drive, motherboard, RAID controller, SATA controller, etc. Updating GPU drivers can also help in some cases.
To update drivers:
- Open Device Manager.
- Expand categories and right click devices > Update driver.
- Search automatically for updated driver software.
- Reboot once finished and test Recycle Bin deletion again.
With the latest drivers installed for your hardware, any driver-related issues that were preventing Recycle Bin deletion should be resolved.
Update Windows
As a general troubleshooting step for Recycle Bin errors, make sure your Windows 10 is completely up to date. Microsoft periodically releases patches and bug fixes that can resolve problems like inability to empty the Recycle Bin.
To fully update Windows 10:
- Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Click Check for updates. Install all available updates.
- Restart your PC once updates complete. Windows may install additional updates after rebooting.
- After updates are installed, try emptying the Recycle Bin again.
Updating to the latest Windows version fixes many bugs and issues that may be interfering with Recycle Bin file deletion.
Disable Fast Startup
Windows 10’s Fast Startup feature can sometimes cause Recycle Bin errors when powering back on after shutdown. With Fast Startup, rebooting does not perform a full restart.
Disabling Fast Startup forces a complete reboot every time you shut down. This can fix problems with emptying the Recycle Bin.
To disable Fast Startup:
- Go to Control Panel > Hardware and Sound > Power Options.
- Click Choose what power buttons do.
- Click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
- Uncheck Turn on fast startup.
- Click Save changes and restart your PC.
With Fast Startup disabled, shut down your PC fully and check if you can now empty the Recycle Bin.
Run Antivirus Scan
Viruses and malware can sometimes prevent access to the Recycle Bin or corrupt related system files. Run a full scan using your antivirus software to check for infections. Malware may block the Recycle Bin, quarentine files, or damage components like the Master File Table.
Download and run a recommended antivirus like Malwarebytes to scan for malware. If it finds anything, allow it to clean or delete detected threats and restart your PC.
With any infections removed, try emptying the Recycle Bin again to see if the issue has been resolved.
Restore From a Restore Point
If your Recycle Bin still cannot be emptied after trying the other troubleshooting steps, you can restore your PC from a System Restore point as a last resort.
System Restore rolls your system back to an earlier state, before the Recycle Bin errors occurred. Make sure to backup any needed data first.
To restore from a restore point:
- Go to Control Panel > Recovery > Open System Restore.
- Click Next, select a restore point, and click Scan for affected programs.
- Click Close > Next > Finish to restore your PC.
After restoring, Windows will create a new Recycle Bin and you can test if you can now empty it successfully.
Delete Files via Command Prompt
If all else fails and you still cannot empty the Recycle Bin through the normal interface, you can try deleting files manually from an elevated Command Prompt:
- Right click Command Prompt and Run as Administrator.
- Type cd /d %SystemDrive%\$Recycle.Bin and press Enter.
- Type dir /a to list Recycle Bin contents.
- Delete files with del filename.
This allows you to manually view files inside the Recycle Bin and delete them from the command line. Use with caution, as deleted files cannot be recovered.
Recover Deleted Files First
Before taking more drastic measures like reinstalling Windows, make sure to try and recover your deleted files first:
- Use backup software to restore files from an external drive or cloud storage.
- Use file recovery software like Recuva to restore deleted files from the hard disk.
- Restore previous file versions from System Restore or File History.
- Recover files from a system image backup.
This will ensure you don’t lose important documents and data. After recovering files, you can reset the Recycle Bin or reinstall Windows 10 if needed to fix the underlying problem.
Reset the Recycle Bin
If clearing out individual files does not work, you can try resetting the Recycle Bin entirely to troubleshoot issues deleting its contents:
- Open Command Prompt as admin and stop the Recycle Bin service: net stop stobject
- Delete the Recycle Bin info files: del %SystemDrive%\$Recycle.Bin\desktop.ini /a
- Restart the service: net start stobject
This will recreate a fresh, empty Recycle Bin. Check if you can now delete files again as expected.
Reinstall or Reset Windows
If no other solutions resolve your Recycle Bin deletion issues, reinstalling or resetting Windows 10 may be necessary. Back up your data first.
To reinstall Windows 10:
- Boot from your Windows 10 installation media.
- Go through the setup prompts to reinstall Windows.
- Choose Keep Nothing to start with a completely fresh OS.
Alternatively, you can reset Windows 10 from within the operating system to refresh system files and settings while keeping your personal files.
As a last resort, this will give you a completely new Recycle Bin and Windows environment that should work properly.
Conclusion
Trouble emptying the Recycle Bin in Windows 10 is usually caused by permission issues, file locks, drive errors, or software bugs. By following the troubleshooting steps in this guide such as checking your account type, closing programs using deleted files, running CHKDSK, updating Windows, and restoring from backup, you should be able to resolve most Recycle Bin deletion issues.
However, in rare cases where the Recycle Bin becomes completely unresponsive or corrupted, more advanced solutions like resetting Windows or reinstalling from scratch may be required to fix the problem. Be sure to exhaust all options before resorting to more time-consuming repairs. With the right troubleshooting approach, you can get rid of Recycle Bin errors and keep your system running smoothly.