TROUBLESHOOT PROBLEMS WITH THE RECYCLE BIN

Once you're familiar with how the Recycle Bin works, learn how to troubleshoot some problems that may occur. These problems include missing files, corrupt files, and a corrupt Recycled folder.

MISSING FILES

If the INFO file or INFO2 file in Win98 becomes corrupt for any reason, the Recycle Bin won't display the correct filename or know the restoration path. In this case, the Recycle Bin will appear to be empty.

However, the hidden Recycled folder will not be empty. Display the hidden contents of this folder, and manually search for the files you're looking for. Keep in mind that these files were renamed upon deletion and that there's a separate Recycled folder on each drive of the system. When you find the "missing" files, manually move and rename them.

CORRUPT INFO FILE

A corrupt INFO(2) file not only causes the Recycle Bin to stop displaying previously deleted files but also any new files that are deleted.

Windows re-creates the required INFO(2) file from scratch on startup if it doesn't find one in the Recycled folder. So if the Recycle Bin stops functioning, delete the INFO(2) catalog file and have Windows create a new one at the next startup.

Since INFO(2) is a hidden file, to delete it you either need to view the hidden files in Explorer or enter the following commands at the command prompt:

Cd RECYCLED

attrib -h inf*

del info

CORRUPT DELETED FILES

It's possible for files themselves to become corrupt in the Recycled folder, and they won't display when the Recycle Bin is opened.

To troubleshoot this problem, open the hidden Recycled folder and look for a Desktop.ini file. If you find this file, first copy it to a safe folder. Make sure that all the files are disposable, save the ones that aren't, and then delete the entire contents of the folder.

The INFO(2) file will be re-created automatically when you reboot. If the Desktop.ini file is no longer present, retrieve the saved copy or re-create it by adding the following lines to a blank Desktop.ini file:

[.ShellClassInfo]

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

CORRUPT RECYCLED FOLDER

Fortunately, the Recycled folder is re-created at startup, so the best way to fix this problem is to delete the folder and reboot the system. Once again, since deleting the folder destroys all of the contents, make sure that all of the files are disposable.

To delete the Recycled folder, open the command prompt, navigate to the root of the drive from which you need to delete the Recycled folder--since each drive has its own--and enter the following commands:

attrib -s -h recycled

del recycled

Restart Windows, and the Recycled folder will be re-created.