Full Recycle bin that is really empty

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jeff
  • Start date Start date
J

Jeff

This is more of a cosmetic problem than anything else and I can live
with it, but curiosity makes me ask.

I'm using XP MCE SP-2 fully up-to-date. Now and then the Recycle bin
icon takes on the "full" version, but when opening it, it is empty and
the right mouse option to empty it says there is nothing to empty.

Is this a known bug? What causes it and how to correct it.

Jeff
 
Jeff said:
This is more of a cosmetic problem than anything else and I can live
with it, but curiosity makes me ask.

I'm using XP MCE SP-2 fully up-to-date. Now and then the Recycle bin
icon takes on the "full" version, but when opening it, it is empty and
the right mouse option to empty it says there is nothing to empty.

Is this a known bug? What causes it and how to correct it.
Click to expand...

Run the edit on Kelly's site:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Line 64: Replace/Repair the Recycle Bin in Windows XP

See the top of the page for info on running the edit.
 
Thank you both.

But the problem I always have with Kelly's registration tweaks is that
there seems to be no explanation of "what" these registry tweaks
actually do to your system. Could they be later causing more problems,
etc.?

One gets the impression (guesses?) that the right column is presumed to
reverse the reg tweaks in the left column, but that is not always clear
or sure. For instance #175's left column is "Restore Empty/Full Icons -
Recycle Bin", but the corresponding right column just has a cryptic
"Restore Right Click .inf/Install". Not clear if that is to reverse the
left column or something else and what the left column has to do with a
right click.

So my real question: is it worth applying the Kelly reg tweak for this
problem or should it be more safely ignored. What is causing the problem
in the first place. Is it something that Microsoft is aware of ad could
correct in an "update".

Jeff
 
Jeff said:
Thank you both.

But the problem I always have with Kelly's registration tweaks is that
there seems to be no explanation of "what" these registry tweaks actually
do to your system. Could they be later causing more problems, etc.?
Click to expand...

I have not seen that happen. If you want to see what one of her edit's
does, open it. For example edit #175 is a registry file. Download it to
the desktop, right click and choose edit or open (open it in notepad) and
see what's in it.
One gets the impression (guesses?) that the right column is presumed to
reverse the reg tweaks in the left column, but that is not always clear or
sure.
Click to expand...

No that is not the case. The left and right columns are independent.
Sometimes there is an undo of the edit in the same number, and it depends on
where you click. I suppose there might be a numbered entry that has an undo
that's numbered and next to it, I don't know.
For instance #175's left column is "Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle
Bin", but the corresponding right column just has a cryptic "Restore Right
Click .inf/Install". Not clear if that is to reverse the left column or
something else and what the left column has to do with a right click.
Click to expand...

No, it has nothing to do with #175. It's a separate edit for a different
issue. To restore the right click Context Menu Entry for *.inf files to
show the Install item. Yes, sometimes it's not always clear by the name
what the edit is for or you might not be familar with it.
So my real question: is it worth applying the Kelly reg tweak for this
problem or should it be more safely ignored.
Click to expand...

It's up to you. I have never had a problem with her edits, nor have
thousands of other folks. I can't remember the last time someone posted in
here saying they had a problem. As I said before you can examine the edit to
see the changes that would be made to the registry. It's always a good
idea to see what it does.

Before making any changes to the registry, make a manual restore point in
system restore. This backs up the registry. Also it's wise to backup the
individual keys that will be changed before making the changes. Open the
registry editor, navigate to those keys, and see what's there in your
registry. If what you have is different then first export a copy of the
key through File | Export. Then you could manually edit your registry to
refect the edit suggested by Kelly, or just apply the edit. If needed you
can merge the saved keys back into the registry to reverse it, or use System
Restore.

It's safer using Kelly's edits than manually editing the registry. If you
make a mistake in the manual entry it could potentially cause significant
problems.

As added protection I use a program called ERUNT to save a full copy of the
registry daily. You can backup the complete registry from within regedit,
but you cannot restore the full registry from that. When set up properly a
backup of the registry created by ERUNT can be restored from the recovery
console.

ERUNT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt

Installing and Using ERUNT
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html
http://www.winxptutor.com/regback.htm
What is causing the problem in the first place. Is it something that
Microsoft is aware of ad could correct in an "update".
Click to expand...

I don't know, but I doubt it's anything for which a fix would be forthcoming
on Windows Update.
 
Try this first.

Right click the Desktop | Click Properties | Click the Desktop tab |
Click the Customize Desktop button | Click on the Recycle Bin (full) icon |
Click the Restore Default button | Scroll over to the right and click on the
Recycle Bin (empty) icon | Click the Restore Default button

Restore Default button:
[[Click to use the Windows default icon for the selected desktop item.]]

You may have to reboot, I have no idea.

175. should fix your problem. Read on McDuff.

There are two columns, I assume, to save space on the web page. Left column
and right column usually are *NOT* related. With 394 columns, occasionally
left and right may be related. As near as I can tell the numbers and the
order is just how Kelly has added things over time. The ones at the bottom
are the newest.

If a .reg file has an Undo, you see something like this...

18. Add Google as Primary Search - Undo

....for example.

Clicking on Add Google as Primary Search gets you the Google.reg file.

Clicking on Undo gets you the RestoreSearch2.REG file.
RestoreSearch2.REG is the UNDO file for Google.reg.

175. Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle Bin does not have an Undo because it
fixes something. It is not a tweak. Tweaks have Undo files so that you can
reverse what you tweaked. Who would want to reverse a fix? Sorry dumb
question. ;-)

175. Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle Bin gets you the rbemptyfull.reg
file.

The rbemptyfull.reg file has this in it...

--------
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\
{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]
@="Shell32.dll,31"
"Full"="Shell32.dll,32"
"Empty"="Shell32.dll,31"
--------

This deletes this registry key, if it exists.
-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\
CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

In a .reg file the minus sign (-) in front of HKEY or in front of any line
deletes that key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\
CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} is not a key that you want.

For this...
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]
@="Shell32.dll,31"
"Full"="Shell32.dll,32"
"Empty"="Shell32.dll,31"

{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} is the CLSID for the Recycle Bin
folder.

To prove that, the following line pasted into Start | Run should open the
Recycle Bin...

file:///::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

DefaultIcon is guess what? The Default Icons for the Recycle Bin.

Shell32.dll,32 is the #32 icon, start counting @ 0, for the icons contained
in Shell32.dll. That icon is the normal Full Recycle Bin Icon.

Shell32.dll,31 is #31 for the icons contained in Shell32.dll. That icon is
the normal Empty Recycle Bin Icon.

There are 238 icons in SHELL32.dll, although 49 through 52 are the same
icon. The icons in SHELL32.dll are numbered from 0 through 237. The icon
in the upper left hand corner is 0, the next one down is 1, the icon at the
bottom of column 1 is 3 and the icon at the top of the second column is 4.

There looks like there is a gap between 48 and 53, but there is not. Icons
49 through 52 are no icon, as it were, but they can be selected. On a
folder all you see is the text, no icon.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Wes, a nice, very thorough reply.
--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

Wesley Vogel said:
Try this first.

Right click the Desktop | Click Properties | Click the Desktop tab |
Click the Customize Desktop button | Click on the Recycle Bin (full) icon
|
Click the Restore Default button | Scroll over to the right and click on
the
Recycle Bin (empty) icon | Click the Restore Default button

Restore Default button:
[[Click to use the Windows default icon for the selected desktop item.]]

You may have to reboot, I have no idea.

175. should fix your problem. Read on McDuff.

There are two columns, I assume, to save space on the web page. Left
column
and right column usually are *NOT* related. With 394 columns,
occasionally
left and right may be related. As near as I can tell the numbers and the
order is just how Kelly has added things over time. The ones at the
bottom
are the newest.

If a .reg file has an Undo, you see something like this...

18. Add Google as Primary Search - Undo

...for example.

Clicking on Add Google as Primary Search gets you the Google.reg file.

Clicking on Undo gets you the RestoreSearch2.REG file.
RestoreSearch2.REG is the UNDO file for Google.reg.

175. Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle Bin does not have an Undo because
it
fixes something. It is not a tweak. Tweaks have Undo files so that you
can
reverse what you tweaked. Who would want to reverse a fix? Sorry dumb
question. ;-)

175. Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle Bin gets you the rbemptyfull.reg
file.

The rbemptyfull.reg file has this in it...

--------
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\
{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]
@="Shell32.dll,31"
"Full"="Shell32.dll,32"
"Empty"="Shell32.dll,31"
--------

This deletes this registry key, if it exists.
-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\
CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

In a .reg file the minus sign (-) in front of HKEY or in front of any line
deletes that key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\
CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} is not a key that you want.

For this...
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]
@="Shell32.dll,31"
"Full"="Shell32.dll,32"
"Empty"="Shell32.dll,31"

{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} is the CLSID for the Recycle Bin
folder.

To prove that, the following line pasted into Start | Run should open the
Recycle Bin...

file:///::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

DefaultIcon is guess what? The Default Icons for the Recycle Bin.

Shell32.dll,32 is the #32 icon, start counting @ 0, for the icons
contained
in Shell32.dll. That icon is the normal Full Recycle Bin Icon.

Shell32.dll,31 is #31 for the icons contained in Shell32.dll. That icon
is
the normal Empty Recycle Bin Icon.

There are 238 icons in SHELL32.dll, although 49 through 52 are the same
icon. The icons in SHELL32.dll are numbered from 0 through 237. The icon
in the upper left hand corner is 0, the next one down is 1, the icon at
the
bottom of column 1 is 3 and the icon at the top of the second column is 4.

There looks like there is a gap between 48 and 53, but there is not. Icons
49 through 52 are no icon, as it were, but they can be selected. On a
folder all you see is the text, no icon.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
Jeff said:
Thank you both.

But the problem I always have with Kelly's registration tweaks is that
there seems to be no explanation of "what" these registry tweaks
actually do to your system. Could they be later causing more problems,
etc.?

One gets the impression (guesses?) that the right column is presumed to
reverse the reg tweaks in the left column, but that is not always clear
or sure. For instance #175's left column is "Restore Empty/Full Icons -
Recycle Bin", but the corresponding right column just has a cryptic
"Restore Right Click .inf/Install". Not clear if that is to reverse the
left column or something else and what the left column has to do with a
right click.

So my real question: is it worth applying the Kelly reg tweak for this
problem or should it be more safely ignored. What is causing the problem
in the first place. Is it something that Microsoft is aware of ad could
correct in an "update".

Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Rock said:
[Snip]

Thank you all for very helpful and illuminating replies. Very
helpful and much appreciated.
Click to expand...

You're welcome Jeff. Let us know the outcome if you can.
Click to expand...
My problem occurs very rarely: maybe once a month. So I will hold off
till it happens again and then try the remedies proposed.

Jeff
 
Jeff said:
My problem occurs very rarely: maybe once a month. So I will hold off
till it happens again and then try the remedies proposed.
Click to expand...

Hi Jeff

I missed the discussion, but just wanted to chime in at the end with one
more suggestion :-)

If Wes's answer by some chance doesn't work for you it probably isn't an
icon problem. Buried two layers deep in your C:\Recycler folder (= the
bin) is a file called Info2 that keeps track of what's in there, its
original name and where it came from, etc. Sometimes this file doesn't
update properly or gets corrupted, making the bin look full when it's
not or listing phantom files that can't be deleted.

The easy cure is to delete C:\Recycler and reboot to have Windows
recreate the folder. Usually when you do this you'll find the "full"
icon still showing when you log back in; just delete a test file then
empty the bin and all should be well :-)
 
Nightowl said:
Hi Jeff

I missed the discussion, but just wanted to chime in at the end with
one more suggestion :-)

If Wes's answer by some chance doesn't work for you it probably isn't
an icon problem. Buried two layers deep in your C:\Recycler folder (=
the bin) is a file called Info2 that keeps track of what's in there,
its original name and where it came from, etc. Sometimes this file
doesn't update properly or gets corrupted, making the bin look full
when it's not or listing phantom files that can't be deleted.

The easy cure is to delete C:\Recycler and reboot to have Windows
recreate the folder. Usually when you do this you'll find the "full"
icon still showing when you log back in; just delete a test file then
empty the bin and all should be well :-)
Click to expand...

Thanks Nightowl. Before asking the question I had actually found a way
to solve the problem on my own by doing exactly what you said: deleted a
rubbish file and then emptying the Recycle bin. Always worked to
restore the "empty" icon and I did not need to reboot. That is why this
is not a major problem for me. Just occasionally annoying and I thought
to ask for the possible reasons. You've given me a potential reason for
the problem. I'll check it out.

Thanks.

Jeff
 
Nightowl said:
Hi Jeff

I missed the discussion, but just wanted to chime in at the end with
one more suggestion :-)

If Wes's answer by some chance doesn't work for you it probably isn't
an icon problem. Buried two layers deep in your C:\Recycler folder (=
the bin) is a file called Info2 that keeps track of what's in there,
its original name and where it came from, etc. Sometimes this file
doesn't update properly or gets corrupted, making the bin look full
when it's not or listing phantom files that can't be deleted.

The easy cure is to delete C:\Recycler and reboot to have Windows
recreate the folder. Usually when you do this you'll find the "full"
icon still showing when you log back in; just delete a test file then
empty the bin and all should be well :-)
Click to expand...

Tried to delete C:\Recycler but access was denied. Yes I am
administrator.

Jeff
 
[Nightowl said:]
Tried to delete C:\Recycler but access was denied. Yes I am
administrator.
Click to expand...

Hi Jeff

Try this way:

[1] Open a Command window and shut down any other running programs.
Ctrl-Alt-Del to open the Task Manager.

[2] In Task Manager look on the Processes tab and select Explorer.exe,
Click on the End Process button. (Your desktop and taskbar will
disappear and you'll be left with just Task Manager and the Command
window. Don't panic!) Leave Task Manager open and return to the Command
window.

[3] Now at the prompt type:
rd /s /q C:\Recycler <enter>
type: exit <enter> to close the Command window.

[4] Go back to Task Manager and on the Applications tab click the button
for New Task. In the box that pops up type: Explorer <OK>. Your desktop
should return to normal. Close Task Manager and reboot.

Hopefully this should do the trick for you. Let us know how it goes :-)
 
<Elvis voice> Thank you, thank you very much. :-D

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
Rock said:
Wes, a nice, very thorough reply.
--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

Wesley Vogel said:
Try this first.

Right click the Desktop | Click Properties | Click the Desktop tab |
Click the Customize Desktop button | Click on the Recycle Bin (full) iconClick the Restore Default button | Scroll over to the right and click on
the
Recycle Bin (empty) icon | Click the Restore Default button

Restore Default button:
[[Click to use the Windows default icon for the selected desktop item.]]

You may have to reboot, I have no idea.

175. should fix your problem. Read on McDuff.

There are two columns, I assume, to save space on the web page. Left
column
and right column usually are *NOT* related. With 394 columns,
occasionally
left and right may be related. As near as I can tell the numbers and the
order is just how Kelly has added things over time. The ones at the
bottom
are the newest.

If a .reg file has an Undo, you see something like this...

18. Add Google as Primary Search - Undo

...for example.

Clicking on Add Google as Primary Search gets you the Google.reg file.

Clicking on Undo gets you the RestoreSearch2.REG file.
RestoreSearch2.REG is the UNDO file for Google.reg.

175. Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle Bin does not have an Undo because
it
fixes something. It is not a tweak. Tweaks have Undo files so that you
can
reverse what you tweaked. Who would want to reverse a fix? Sorry dumb
question. ;-)

175. Restore Empty/Full Icons - Recycle Bin gets you the rbemptyfull.reg
file.

The rbemptyfull.reg file has this in it...

--------
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\
{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]
@="Shell32.dll,31"
"Full"="Shell32.dll,32"
"Empty"="Shell32.dll,31"
--------

This deletes this registry key, if it exists.
-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\
CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

In a .reg file the minus sign (-) in front of HKEY or in front of any
line deletes that key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\
CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} is not a key that you want.

For this...
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\DefaultIcon]
@="Shell32.dll,31"
"Full"="Shell32.dll,32"
"Empty"="Shell32.dll,31"

{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} is the CLSID for the Recycle Bin
folder.

To prove that, the following line pasted into Start | Run should open the
Recycle Bin...

file:///::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}

DefaultIcon is guess what? The Default Icons for the Recycle Bin.

Shell32.dll,32 is the #32 icon, start counting @ 0, for the icons
contained
in Shell32.dll. That icon is the normal Full Recycle Bin Icon.

Shell32.dll,31 is #31 for the icons contained in Shell32.dll. That icon
is
the normal Empty Recycle Bin Icon.

There are 238 icons in SHELL32.dll, although 49 through 52 are the same
icon. The icons in SHELL32.dll are numbered from 0 through 237. The icon
in the upper left hand corner is 0, the next one down is 1, the icon at
the
bottom of column 1 is 3 and the icon at the top of the second column is
4. There looks like there is a gap between 48 and 53, but there is not.
Icons 49 through 52 are no icon, as it were, but they can be selected.
On a folder all you see is the text, no icon.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
Jeff said:
Thank you both.

But the problem I always have with Kelly's registration tweaks is that
there seems to be no explanation of "what" these registry tweaks
actually do to your system. Could they be later causing more problems,
etc.?

One gets the impression (guesses?) that the right column is presumed to
reverse the reg tweaks in the left column, but that is not always clear
or sure. For instance #175's left column is "Restore Empty/Full Icons -
Recycle Bin", but the corresponding right column just has a cryptic
"Restore Right Click .inf/Install". Not clear if that is to reverse the
left column or something else and what the left column has to do with a
right click.

So my real question: is it worth applying the Kelly reg tweak for this
problem or should it be more safely ignored. What is causing the problem
in the first place. Is it something that Microsoft is aware of ad could
correct in an "update".

Jeff

Curt Christianson wrote:
Sorry Jeff,

Make that #175 http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm


Hi Jeff, You may also try: #174 Restore empty/Full icons-Recycle bin
at: http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

--
HTH,
Curt

Windows Support Center
www.aumha.org
Practically Nerded,...
http://dundats.mvps.org/Index.htm

This is more of a cosmetic problem than anything else and I can
live with it, but curiosity makes me ask.

I'm using XP MCE SP-2 fully up-to-date. Now and then the Recycle
bin icon takes on the "full" version, but when opening it, it is
empty and the right mouse option to empty it says there is nothing
to empty. Is this a known bug? What causes it and how to correct it.

Jeff
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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