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Windows 10 Fix Unable to Empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10

Fixed: Unable to Empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10

By Achilles Hill | Last Updated

Recycle Bin not emptying in Windows 10 after you click the Empty Recycle Bin button? Cannot empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10 because the Empty Recycle Bin option is grayed out? Fail to access Windows 10 Recycle Bin to delete all files manually? If you are stuck with the problem unable to empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10, you can try the ways in this post to get out of the trouble easily.

  1. 1. Restore Recycle Bin Icon to Default
  2. 2. Reset Recycle Bin
  3. 3. End the Process of OneDrive
  4. 4. Empty Recycle Bin with Other Ways

fix unable to empty recycle bin in windows 10

1. Restore Recycle Bin Icon to Default

It's a useful way to fix the corrupted Recycle Bin by restoring its icon to default.

Step 1: Right-click the desktop and select Personalize in the context menu.

Step 2: In the left pane, choose Themes. Then scroll down the page to the bottom and click Desktop icon settings under Related Settings.

click desktop icon settings

Step 3: Choose Recycle Bin and click Restore Default in the Desktop Icon Settings window. After that, hit Apply > OK to save the change.

restore recycle bin icon

2. Reset Recycle Bin

Resetting is a common way to make programs work normal again, which also can be applied to Recycle Bin. When the way 1 above doesn't help, you can try this method.

Step 1: Type Command Prompt(CMD) in the search bar and run it as an admin.

Step 2: In the open CMD, input rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin and hit Enter to execute the command.

reset recycle bin

Step 3: Restart your Windows 10 computer.

3. End the Process of OneDrive

OneDrive can also cause the issue cannot empty Recycle Bin in Windows 10. If it is installed in your PC, you can stop it to see whether the problem is fixed.

Step 1: Open Task Manager.

Step 2: In the Processes section, locate to OneDrive and hit End Task in the lower-right corner.

end task for onedrive

4. Empty Recycle Bin with Other Ways

Except for the Empty Recycle Bin option, there are other available ways for you to remove all items from Recycle Bin. You can empty Recycle Bin in Settings/Disk Cleanup/iSunshare System Genius. And in the following part, we will tell you how to clean Recycle Bin with System Genius.

Step 1: In your Windows 10 PC, download and install System Genius, which is specialized in deleting Windows junk files and cleaning Registry.

free download system genius

Step 2: Run the tool. Choose Junk File under the Clean All option and click Scan.

scan junk files

Step 3: To conveniently select Recycle Bin, you can uncheck Junk file scan result firstly and then check Recycle Bin. At last, hit Clean to empty the Recycle Bin without a hitch.

empty recycle bin in system genius

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