Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update

Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update: Once you install Windows 10 Creators Update on your system you have to go through a variety of issues within Windows such as No Sound, No Internet Connectivity, Brightness issues etc and one such issue which we are going to discuss is that users are Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update. After the update, you will notice that there are some files in the recycle bin and when you try to delete those file nothing happens. If you try to right-click in order to bring up the “Empty Recycle Bin” then you will notice that it is grayed out.

Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update

The main issue seems to be a third party application which seems to be conflicting with Recycle been, or Recycle Bin is corrupted. So without wasting any time let’s see How to Fix Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update with the help of the below-listed troubleshooting guide.

Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Method 1: Perform Clean Boot

1.Press the Windows Key + R button, then type ‘msconfig’ and click OK.

msconfig

2.Under General tab under, make sure ‘Selective startup’ is checked.

3.Uncheck ‘Load startup items‘ under selective startup.

Perform Clean boot in Windows. Selective startup in system configuration

4.Select Service tab and check the box ‘Hide all Microsoft services.’

5.Now click ‘Disable all’to disable all the unnecessary services which might cause conflict.

hide all microsoft services in system configuration

6.On Startup tab, click ‘Open Task Manager.’

startup open task manager

7.Now in Startup tab (Inside Task Manager) disable all the startup items which are enabled.

disable startup items

8.Click OK and then Restart. Once the PC starts in clean boot try to empty Recycle and you may be able to Fix Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update.

9.Again press the Windows key + R button and type ‘msconfig’ and click OK.

10.On the General tab, select the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.

system configuration enable normal startup

11.When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

Method 2: Use CCleaner to empty Recycle Bin

Make sure to download and install CCleaner from its website. Then start CCleaner and from the left-hand side menu click on “CCleaner”. Now scroll down to System section and checkmark “Empty Recycle Bin” then click on ‘Run Cleaner’.

Select Cleaner then checkmark Empty Recycle Bin under System and click Run Cleaner

Method 3: Reset Recycle Bin

1.Press Windows Key + X then select Command Prompt (Admin).

command prompt with admin rights

2.Type the following command into cmd and hit Enter:

RD /S /Q [Drive_Letter]:\$Recycle.bin?

Reset Recycle Bin

Note: If Windows is installed on C: drive then replace the [Drive_Letter] with C.

RD /S /Q C:\$Recycle.bin?

3.Restart your PC to save changes and then again try to empty Recycle Bin.

Method 4: Fix Corrupted Recycle Bin

1.Open This PC then click on View and then click on Options.

change folder and search options

2.Switch to View tab then checkmark “Show hidden files, folders, and drives“.

3.Uncheck the following settings:

Hide empty drives
Hide extensions for known file types
Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)

show hidden files and operating system files

4.Click Apply followed by OK.

5.Now navigate to the C: drive (The drive where Windows is installed).

6.Right-click on the $RECYCLE.BIN folder and select Delete.

Right-click on $RECYCLE.BIN folder and select Delete

Note: If you’re not able to delete this folder then boot your PC into Safe Mode then try to delete it.

7.Click Yes then select Continue in order to perform this action.

Click Yes then select Continue in order to perform this action

8.Checkmark “Do this for all current items” and click on Yes.

9.Repeat steps 5 to 8 for any other hard drive letter.

10.Reboot your PC to save changes.

11.After the restart Windows will automatically create a new $RECYCLE.BIN folder and Recycle Bin on the Desktop.

empty recycle bin

12.Open Folder Options then select “Don’t show hidden files and folders” and checkmark “Hide protected operating system files“.

13.Click Apply followed by OK.

Recommended:

That’s it you have successfully Fix Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update but if you still have any queries regarding this guide then feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.

1 thought on “Unable to empty Recycle Bin after Windows 10 Creators Update”

  1. I don’t understand how everyone has so many problems with Windows. I just installed the most recent version of Windows 10 and everything is working like a charm. Stability is yet to be tested, though.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *