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THE RECYCLE BIN
In these environment-conscious days, we all know what
recycling is. But what does it have to do with Windows
9x/ME? Well, most times that you delete a file on your
hard disk, it really isn't deleted (consigned permanently
to the waste basket) but is instead sent to the Recycle
Bin. You may have deleted one or more files in this way:
you're in Explorer or My Computer, you select a file to
get rid of by clicking on its name once, then you pull
down the File menu, select Delete, and you expect that
the file(s) you selected are now gone, gone, gone...
Well, not quite. Actually, they have been moved to a
hidden directory on your disk called
"Recycled". Those files you wanted to eliminate
are really still there, occupying space on your hard
disk! No wonder you aren't regaining any kilobytes of
storage after doing your Spring Cleaning so early!
You can also "delete" files by dragging them to
that icon on your desktop called "Recycle Bin".
Again, they still won't be really gone; you can't do
anything with them, but they continue to take up disk
space. Now why on earth would Microsoft have come up with
such a crazy idea? Maybe you're well aware of why the
idea isn't as mad as it may at first appear; here's the
scenario: you recently spent a long bleary-eyed night
cleaning up your disk, eliminating once and for all the
programs and files you don't really need or use that
often, in order to make room for those ever-present new
programs you greedily ordered from Phantastic Programs
Inc. a week ago. But all of a sudden you realize you
can't find the copy of your speech for the Elks
Convention that you so painstakingly composed on the
computer using PluPerfect Write for Windows. And what is
this file containing your wife's recipe for Porcupine
Soup that still remains on the computer? Didn't you just
recently wipe that off the disk, never to be seen again?
As in the cartoonist's famous graphic, a light bulb
suddenly flares above your head: oh, no, you must have
deleted the wrong file!
With the Recycle Bin, you no longer need to be concerned
about this unhappy circumstance, for you can get back
that precious speech to the Elks and all will be well
again. Here's how: click twice on the Recycle Bin icon;
up pops a window which includes a pull-down File menu
that contains, among others, an option for
"Restore". So select the name of the file you
want to get back (click once), then pull down
"File", select "Restore", and voila!
your deleted valuable file is back where it once was,
ready to use again...
Oh, but you say, why do I need to put up with this
oh-so-careful capability of Windows which robs me of disk
space? "I always delete only the files I want to
delete... I nev-a-h make misteaks!" Can I bypass the
recycle bin? Yes you can. Just select the file(s) you
want to delete, then simultaneously press the
"shift" and "delete" keys, and those
files will disappear forever, without going into the
recycle bin first.
But what about those files that were so carelessly
consigned to the impermanent waste basket (Recycle Bin)
and which you really, really want to get rid of? You can
empty the garbage by choosing another option on the
"File" menu of the Recycle Bin:
"Clear". That eliminates all the files in the
Recycle Bin and reclaims the precious disk space used by
them.