How to Fix ‘Unable to Empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10’ Issue

24

This tip is about the how to Fix ‘Unable to Empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10’ Issue. So read this free guide, How to Fix ‘Unable to Empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10’ Issue. If you have query related to same article you may contact us.

How to Fix ‘Unable to Empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10’ Issue – Guide

Emptying your computer’s Recycle Bin is a good approach to getting rid of useless files. This releases up space while protecting your privacy by deleting sensitive files. However, you may encounter an issue where the Recycle Bin refuses to delete your files. For starters, this could be because you don’t have admin rights or because a third-party application is preventing you from emptying your trash. The Recycle Bin is where you can find all your deleted files. You would use it to permanently delete files from the Recycle Bin or to restore an accidentally deleted file.

But let’s say you just can’t empty the trash for some other reasons. It could be that some applications are interfering with the trash or the trash is corrupted. Whatever the situation, the blog will show you some effective ways to get your junk working again.

Fix Unable to Empty Trash in Windows

Close running applications

Some apps may be causing the Recycle Bin to crash. A common example of such a program is OneDrive. Closing OneDrive or any problematic app may help resolve your issue. Here’s How to do this:

Click Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.

On the Processes tab, right-click OneDrive or any suspicious app you want to close and select End Task.

From here, try deleting items from the Recycle Bin and check if the issue is resolved. If you somehow suspect that OneDrive might be running but it doesn’t show up in Task Manager, close it via Command Prompt. Here’s How to do this:

Press Windows key + R and type CMD.

Click Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt.

Type the following command at the command prompt and click Enter:

taskkill / f / im onedrive.exe

Update or remove third-party software programs

If you’ve tried to close all running applications and haven’t been able to fix this error, you can take a different approach. You might consider updating your third-party software programs or removing them completely. You can remove applications through Control Panel by following these steps:

Type Control Panel into the Start menu search bar and select Best Match.

In Control Panel, click Uninstall a program.

Right-click any application that you suspect is causing problems in the Recycle Bin and click Uninstall.

Empty the trash through the settings

Instead of manually deleting files from Recycle Bin, you can try to do this in PC settings.

To do this, navigate to Windows Start menu > PC Settings > System > Storage > Temporary files.

In the Temporary files window, check the Trash option and click the Remove files button button.

When the process is complete, go to the Recycle Bin and check if there are any files in it.

Restart Windows File Explorer

Windows File Explorer may be interfering with the Recycle Bin and making it difficult to permanently delete files. For this reason, restarting it may help resolve the issue. See How to restart it.

Click Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.

On the Processes tab, right-click in Windows Explorer and select Restart.

Clean boot your PC

If you’ve tried all the other solutions and still can’t empty the Recycle Bin, you might consider performing a clean boot. Here’s How to do this:

Press Windows key + R, type msconfig and click Enter to open the System Configuration window.

On the General tab, select the Selective startup option and uncheck Load startup items.

Then go to the Services tab, check the Hide all Microsoft services box and click the Disable All button button.

From here, go to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager.

In the Task Manager Startup tab, right-click each item and select Disable. Close Task Manager when finished.

Return to the Startup tab of the System Configuration window, click Apply and OK to apply all your changes.

reset the trash

You may be struggling to empty the Recycle Bin simply because it is corrupt. To fix it, you need to reset it through the Command Prompt. Here are the steps you should take to do this:

Press Windows key + R and type CMD.

Click Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open an elevated Command Prompt.

Type the following command at the command prompt and click Enter:

Final note

I hope you like the guide How to Fix ‘Unable to Empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10’ Issue. In case if you have any query regards this article you may ask us. Also, please share your love by sharing this article with your friends.