New External Disk Has Recycle Bin On It

[Wendy]

I just bought a WD Elements external disk. When I connected it to the computer, the disk was completely empty except for a Recycle Bin that showed up on it. It’s a duplicate of the system Recycle Bin. But it’s even stranger than that: it’s a “mirror” of the system Recycle Bin. Anything that was in the system Recycle Bin shows up in the one on the WD disk. Anything deleted from either Recycle Bin gets deleted from the other. I not only don’t understand how it got there on the new WD disk but I can’t delete the WD bin. When I try to Windows warns me that I’m deleting a system folder. It looks like if I delete the bin on the WD disk Windows will delete the real Recycle Bin, as well.

Can someone please tell me why this is happening and what to do now?

[TwitchisMental]

Hello Wendy and thank you for being a PCHF member. We should be able to assist you with the reported issue.

First we will need a bit more information.

Which version of Windows are you using?

[Antman]

Recycle Bin exists for each user (SID). Even if you successfully remove it, it will return the next time Windows mounts the drive.

You can empty it and you can keep it empty, but you cannot remove it AND use that drive in Windows.

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So, if you must, boot to Linux, delete folder, never use drive again in Windows.

[Wendy]

I am using Windows 7.

How can I never use this disk in Windows again? That’s why I bought it. I don’t have Linux.

[Antman]

I am using Windows 7.

How can I never use this disk in Windows again? That’s why I bought it. I don’t have Linux.

Then you must accept that Windows employs a Recycle Bin that functions in the manner that you have observed.

You can set Disk/Recycle Bin Properties to immediately delete files on the external drive, but you cannot get rid of the Recycle Bin.

Regarding what appears to be in the Bin on the external drive, think of the bin as a library. The recycle bin may contain something, but that does not mean that the file(s) is present on a particular drive.

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[plodr]

How can I never use this disk in Windows again?
Antman did not say you could never use it in Windows.

The recycle bin will be on any external hard drive you plug into a computer running Windows. (I have 7 WD external drives with recycle bins showing on all of them). Ignore the recycle bin; it has no bearing on what you bought the drive for. Use it.

[Wendy]

After seeing your post, I went and looked at my other WD disk. You’re right - it has it also. I never saw that before. I always keep Don’t Show Hidden File checked. The only reason I unchecked it on the new disk is because it showed no files on the disk but when I right clicked Properties it showed some space was used which I couldn’t understand.

Thank you both for your help and putting my mind at ease that the disk is all right to use.

[Antman]

AskVG has a nifty registry entry and script for adding a context menu (right click) entry to show/hide hidden files. It is one of my most frequently used hacks.

The install command simply copies a batch file to C: root and adds a registry entry. For my own use, I modified it to change the context menu text and to locate the script in a different location. It works fine as-is, but is so easy to modify.

Add “Show / Hide Hidden Files” Option in Desktop and Explorer Context Menu in Windows – AskVG

[phillpower2]

Any update for us Wendy?

[phillpower2]

Any update for us Wendy? If unreplied to within 48hrs this thread will be closed.