Hide the Recycle Bin in Windows Vista

Posted on December 15, 2008 at 5:34 am

If you want to remove your Recycle Bin from the desktop in Windows Vista, it’s a pretty straightforward process. Personally, I don’t really find it very useful on the desktop, so I remove it to reduce the clutter.

To remove the recycle bin, there are two ways you can go about it: either delete it by right-clicking on it or go into Personalize Desktop and un-check it from there. Both methods simply remove the icon from the desktop and nothing else.

Note that whichever way you remove the icon from the desktop, deleting files will still end up in the Recycle Bin. If you want to delete items and bypass the Recycle Bin, you first have to change the settings to not send deleted files to the Recycle Bin by going to Properties.

You need to select the “Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted.” radio button.

OK, so how do you simply remove the Recycle Bin from the desktop? Just right-click and choose Delete.

The other way to remove the icon is to right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize. Then click on Change Desktop Icons on the left side.

Then uncheck the box next to Recycle Bin and you’re done. This will remove the icon from your desktop. If you want to restore the Recycle Bin, just re-check the box.

That’s it! Again, the thing to note is that deleting or removing the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop does not mean deleted files will bypass the Recycle Bin, you have to change that in the settings if you want to do that. Enjoy!

» Filed Under Windows Vista