Files left in the $RECYCLE.BIN directory even after emptying it

daswer4 · 06 Jan 2020

While defragging my 1TB HDD, something caught my eye in the files list:

Files left in the $RECYCLE.BIN directory even after emptying it-deleted-files.jpg

There are some (big) files left in the $RECYCLE.BIN directory, even if I've emptied it.
I tried running the disk cleaning utility, but it lists nothing to be cleaned.
This PC was formatted at least twice since the last modified date on some of those files (December 2018). This HDD is used as a storage drive only, Windows 10 is installed on the 240GB SSD I also have in my PC.
Is it possible Windows is not removing them because of they're files that were put in the bin, and I didn't empty it before formatting? Would it be safe to manually remove them via CMD?

EDIT: I found at least 10 more directories in there, and all the files in them are in total ~86GB!

Megahertz · 06 Jan 2020

A disk Format should have cleaned all the disk.

Run a disk check. Open a cmd window as administrator and type:
Chkdsk X: /f (replace X with the drive letter of your disk)

TairikuOkami · 06 Jan 2020

Zacchi4k said:

Would it be safe to manually remove them via CMD?

Yes. It is odd, I use multiple cleanup utilities, including disc cleanup and they all ignore recycle bins.

Code:

del "C:\$Recycle.bin" /s /f /q
del "D:\$Recycle.bin" /s /f /q
del "Z:\$Recycle.bin" /s /f /q

Bree · 06 Jan 2020

Zacchi4k said:

There are some (big) files left in the $RECYCLE.BIN directory, even if I've emptied it.

$RECYCLE.BIN has a folder for each user account. When you empty the Recycle bin you only empty your own one, files that other users may have recycled will still be there.

Would it be safe to manually remove them via CMD?

Probably yes. But I'd try logging in as the other users and emptying their recycle bins first.

daswer4 · 06 Jan 2020

Bree said:

$RECYCLE.BIN has a folder for each user account. When you empty the Recycle bin you only empty your own one, files that other users may have recycled will still be there.

Probably yes. But I'd try logging in as the other users and emptying their recycle bins first.

I only have on user on this PC.

TairikuOkami said:

Yes. It is odd, I use multiple cleanup utilities, including disc cleanup and they all ignore recycle bins.

Code:

del "C:\$Recycle.bin" /s /f /q
del "D:\$Recycle.bin" /s /f /q
del "Z:\$Recycle.bin" /s /f /q

I did just that, now I have regained all the 86GBs, and Windows hasn't imploded, meaning that those files were probably just what I suspected.

- - - Updated - - -

Megahertz said:

A disk Format should have cleaned all the disk.
Run a disk check. Open a cmd window as administrator and type:
Chkdsk X: /f (replace X with the drive letter of your disk)

As I said in the post, I have two disks on my PC: an SSD, with the OS, and an HDD, used for storage, which never got any OS installed