How Do You Add Recycle Bin to This PC in Windows 11?

How to add the Recycle Bin to “This PC” for your personal user account

This method adds the Recycle Bin 🗑️ to This PC for your own account only. Other people who share the computer will not see any change. You make a new key under your personal user settings in the Registry Editor, a tool for changing advanced system settings.

1. Open the Run box. Press the Win and R at the same time. A small box appears in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
2. Launch the Registry Editor. Type regedit into the Open field and press Enter. Windows may ask for permission in a User Account Control prompt. Click Yes. The Registry Editor window opens, with a folder tree on the left and values on the right.
3. Go to the correct key. Click the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor window and delete whatever is in it. Paste this path and press Enter:

   🗝️Registry

   Copy

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

   The left pane should jump to the last key in that path and highlight it.

Registry Editor may stop at the last key that does exist. Right-click the Explorer folder in the left pane, select New, click Key, and name it MyComputer. Then right-click your new MyComputer folder, create another new key with New › Key, and name it NameSpace. Select that last key before you go on.

4. Create the Recycle Bin key. Right-click the key you have selected in the left pane and choose New, then Key. A new folder appears with its name highlighted for editing. Paste this exact text as the name and press Enter:

   💻Code

   Copy

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

   The new key should now show up under the parent key in the left pane.

This long string is a Class ID (CLSID). It is the identifier Windows uses to recognize the Recycle Bin. If you mistype even one character, nothing will happen, so paste it rather than typing it.

5. Restart File Explorer to see the change. Close the Registry Editor. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, find Windows Explorer in the list, right-click it and select Restart. Your taskbar and desktop flash briefly. Then open This PC in File Explorer and the Recycle Bin should be listed there. If it is not, sign out and back in, or restart the PC.

How to add the Recycle Bin to "This PC" for every user on the computer

This method makes the Recycle Bin appear in This PC for every account that signs in to the computer. You add the key to the machine-wide settings, so you need administrator rights.

1. Open the Registry Editor with administrative rights (Requires Admin Privileges). Press Win + R, type regedit in the box and press Enter. Click Yes on the security prompt. If you are signed in with a standard account, Windows asks for an administrator password instead.
2. Go to the system-wide key. Clear the address bar at the top of the window, paste this path and press Enter:

   🗝️Registry

   Copy

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

   The left pane should highlight the last key in the path.

This differs from the personal path in the previous section, which only affects your account.

3. Add the Recycle Bin key. Right-click the key you have selected in the left pane. Choose New, then Key, and name the new key with the Recycle Bin code. Press Enter to confirm:

   💻Code

   Copy

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

   The new key should appear under the selected key.
4. Refresh the interface. Close the Registry Editor, then either restart the PC or restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager (right-click it, then Restart). Anyone who signs in will now see the Recycle Bin in This PC. A user who was already signed in may need to sign out and back in first.

How to remove the Recycle Bin from "This PC" if you change your mind

If you no longer want the Recycle Bin in File Explorer, delete the key you created. Nothing else on the system is affected, and the Recycle Bin itself and your deleted files stay where they are. Only the shortcut in This PC goes away.

1. Open the Registry Editor. Press Win + R, type regedit and press Enter. Click Yes if Windows asks for permission.
2. Go to the key you made. To remove it for yourself only, go back to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace. To remove it for everyone, use the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE path instead (Admin privileges required for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE). If you added the key in both places, repeat these steps for each one.
3. Delete the Recycle Bin key. In the folder tree on the left, look under NameSpace and find the sub-folder named {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}. Right-click it and select Delete. Windows asks you to confirm. Click Yes. The key disappears from the tree.
4. Apply the removal. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager. The shortcut should be gone from This PC, leaving only your drives and folders. If it is still there, sign out and back in.

How to automate the process using PowerShell scripts

PowerShell is a command-line tool for running system tasks. You can use it to add the shortcut with one command instead of clicking through the Registry Editor. The command below adds the key for all users, so PowerShell must run as administrator.

1. Open PowerShell as an administrator (Requires Admin Privileges). Click the Start button and type powershell. Right-click Windows PowerShell in the results and choose Run as administrator. Click Yes on the prompt. A blue window opens, and its title bar should say Administrator.
2. Add the Recycle Bin. To add the icon to This PC for all users on the computer, copy this exact command into the PowerShell window and press Enter:

   💻Code

   Copy

   New-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}" -Force

   If the command works, PowerShell usually returns to a new prompt, or prints details of the key it created. A red error message means the command did not run, and the most common cause is a window that is not elevated.
3. Refresh File Explorer. In the same PowerShell window, run this command to restart File Explorer so the change shows up right away:

   💻Code

   Copy

   Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force

   The taskbar and desktop flash for a moment while Explorer reloads. Then open This PC and check for the Recycle Bin.
4. Remove it later if needed. To take the Recycle Bin back out with PowerShell, run this command in an administrator window and then restart File Explorer again: Remove-Item -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}" -Force

Summary

Adding the Recycle Bin to This PC gives you quick access to deleted files straight from File Explorer. It also lets you remove the desktop icon if you want a cleaner desktop. You can add it for your own account or for every user by editing the registry by hand or by running a single PowerShell command. To undo it, delete the key you created and restart File Explorer.