How Long Do Deleted Items Remain in the Recycle Bin in Windows 11
When you delete a file or folder in Windows 11, it is moved to the Recycle Bin. This gives you a chance to recover the item if you accidentally deleted it. However, items in the Recycle Bin are not stored indefinitely. Windows 11 automatically deletes items from the Recycle Bin after a certain period of time.
Default Recycle Bin Settings
By default, Windows 11 is set to delete items from the Recycle Bin after 30 days. This means that if you do not empty the Recycle Bin within 30 days, the items will be permanently deleted.
Customizing Recycle Bin Settings
You can customize the Recycle Bin settings to change how long items are stored. To do this, open File Explorer and select the Recycle Bin. In the Recycle Bin toolbar, click on the "Manage" tab. In the "Settings" section, you can change the "Storage usage" setting to "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted" or set it to "Delete files after 14 days", "30 days", "60 days", or "90 days". If you set the storage usage to "Cusom size", you can define the maximum size of the Recycle Bin.
Emptying the Recycle Bin
You can manually empty the Recycle Bin at any time by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin icon and selecting "Empty Recycle Bin". You can also configure Windows 11 to automatically empty the Recycle Bin when it reaches a certain size. To do this, open the Recycle Bin properties window (by right-clicking on the Recycle Bin icon and selecting "Properties") and enable the "Display delete confirmation dialog" option.
Related Questions
- How can I recover a file that I accidentally deleted from the Recycle Bin? You can use a data recovery tool to recover deleted files, even if they have been permanently deleted.
- Can I change the size of the Recycle Bin? Yes, you can change the size of the Recycle Bin by adjusting the "Storage usage" setting in the Recycle Bin properties window.
- How can I automatically empty the Recycle Bin? You can configure Windows 11 to automatically empty the Recycle Bin when it reaches a certain size.
- What happens to files that are deleted from the Recycle Bin? Files that are deleted from the Recycle Bin are permanently deleted.
- How can I prevent files from being moved to the Recycle Bin? You can configure Windows 11 to bypass the Recycle Bin and permanently delete files immediately.
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