"Offering free computer help, hints, and tips to the Internet populace." Now with over 3,820 tips!

Windows Vista - Recycle Bin

Use Less Room on Your Hard Drives for the Recycle Bin

SUMMARY: The Windows Vista Recycle Bin requires space on your hard drives to store deleted files. Reduce this space if you need the room and don't need to store so many files.

By default when you delete a file from Explorer or most applications on a Windows Vista system, the file is not deleted but moved to the Recycle Bin. This way later you can recover the file if it was accidentally removed.

Storing old files takes up space on your hard drives, so if room is at a premium you can reduce the Recycle Bin's allotted maximum space:

1. Right-click the "Recycle Bin" icon on the Desktop and choose "Properties".

2. The "Recycle Bin Properties" dialog box appears. Select a drive.

3. Make sure the "Custom size" radio button is checked.

4. Next to "Maximum size (MB)", enter the maximum size in megabytes that the Recycle Bin should take up on said drive.

Adjusting the Recycle Bin size for a drive in Windows Vista

5. Repeat steps 2-4 for each drive that you wish to change the Recycle Bin size.

6. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.

If you try deleting a file that is larger than the size of the Recycle Bin, Windows will prompt if you wish to remove the file as "this file must be deleted because it is too large for the Recycle Bin".