Just like the Recycle Bin we find on the Windows Desktop, an external hard drive has its own Recycle Bin actually. Files you deleted from an external drive will be sent here and you can recover them if they are not supposed to be removed.
How to Access Recycle Bin on an External Hard Drive
Similar to other system files, Recycle Bin on an external hard drive is hidden by default. You can modify settings to make it visible.
$RECYCLE.BIN folder on an external drive is used to collect deleted files, performing the function like Recycle Bin. Here are easy steps for you to find the Recycle Bin.
Step 1: You should first connect your external hard drive to the computer, then double-click on the Folder icon to open File Explorer.
Step 2: Choose the target drive. If your external drive is divided into several partitions, you can choose any of them. Change to the View tab on the top toolbar and click on Options.
Step 3: Select the View tab. You should enable Show hidden files, folders, and drives and disable Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).
Step 4: Click Apply and OK to apply this change and close the window.
Now, you can open the disk and find the $RECYCLE.BIN folder becomes visible.
Can You Delete the $RECYCLE.BIN Folder?
You can delete the $RECYCLE.BIN folder for sure. This folder is to your external hard drive what the Recycle Bin is to your computer. It will take up too much space due to numerous deleted files. You can empty the files to free up space on your external drive. It will be recreated the next time you delete files for Windows users.
To empty the Recycle Bin, try these steps:
Step 1. Follow the above steps to show the Recycle Bin.
Step 2. Double-click to open the $RECYCLE.BIN folder and open Recycle Bin.
Step 3. Choose Empty Recycle Bin on the top toolbar.
Step 4. You will be asked whether to permanently delete these files. Choose Yes to confirm.
How to Recover Data from an External Hard Drive
Recover Files from Recycle Bin on an External Drive
It is easy for you to recover files by using the Recycle Bin on the external drive. You can just open the Recycle Bin, look for your wanted files, and click on the Restore option to recover the deleted files.
However, you possibly fail to find needed files or mistakenly delete the $RECYCLE.BIN folder which will erase your files from the external hard drive permanently. Then how can you recover files in this situation? You can move on to the next method.
Recover Files with MiniTool Power Data Recovery
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Bottom Line
Every drive has its own Recycle Bin but is always hidden. You can change settings to make it visible and use it to restore important files. This post shows you a simple guide to accessing Recycle Bin on an external drive. Hope you get useful information here.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Andrea graduated in English and has a keen interest in the IT industry and questions that arise when computers are used. She is passionate about new things and challenging things and has a wide range of interests like playing guitar, gaming, and crafting.