If you cannot empty the recycle bin on your Windows 10 computer, you are facing a technical glitch. This issue is pretty common amongst Mac and Windows users, and it can happen due to some undefined reasons. Today, we will show how to empty Windows 10 Recycle Bin when it doesn’t get clean.
Since there is no single problem that can trigger this issue, we will be using multiple ways to troubleshoot it.
Please carefully go through the troubleshooting instructions in this article to effectively clean the Recycle Bin on your PC.
Fix the Recycle Bin if it Doesn’t Get Empty
1. Close Running Processes
If your Recycle Bin contains any file that your computer is currently using, you won’t be able to empty your Recycle Bin. First, you will need to check if any application or process is linked with the file you are trying to clean using Recycle Bin. It could be possible that some processes or apps may use the files stored in Recycle Bin. Remember, if anything is getting used on your computer, you won’t be able to delete it or its linked files. It’s a fundamental nature of computers. As long as something is operating, you won’t be able to delete its essential files even if they are inside the recycling bin. Some people have noticed that a few particular applications may interfere while emptying the Recycle Bin. One search app is OneDrive by Microsoft. According to some developers, it is linked with Recycle Bin’s vital deleting procedures and may interfere while deleting files.
Hence, you should stop all applications and processes on your computers that could interfere with the recycling bin cleaning process. Please follow the below steps for better understanding:
Navigate to the task manager on your computer. It is as simple as right-clicking the taskbar and selecting the task manager option.
Once you see the task manager on your computer screen, make sure you are on the processes tab.
Find and select the OneDrive process or application.
Right-click on it and quickly select the end task option.
Continue and give your consent to stop the application and its processes.
You should be able to terminate the OneDrive application from these instructions. If you cannot stop it using the task manager, please stop it using the command prompt.
To stop the OneDrive application using the command prompt, continue with the below instructions:
Go to the start menu and search for the command prompt.
Right-click the command prompt app and then select the Run as administrator option.
Put in the below-given command and hit the enter button.
taskkill /f /im onedrive.exe
Wait for the command to succeed.
Once the command successfully finishes, close the command prompt and try to empty your Recycle Bin.
2. Removing Third-Party Applications
Some applications could interfere with the Recycle Bin. So you must find out such applications and delete them from your computer. Try to remember when this problem started. Did you install an application, and then you began to see this problem? If you find any application suspicious for causing this problem, immediately delete it from your system using the control panel.
3. Clear Recycle Bin Using Settings
Please follow the below instructions to clean your Recycle Bin using a different method:
Navigate to the settings on your computer by selecting the cog-like button from the start menu.
Go to the system option from the left side navigation bar.
Go to the storage option and then go to temporary files.
Make sure to check the Recycle Bin option and hit the Remove Files button.
See if you can clear the data inside the Recycle Bin from here.
Hopefully, the methods we have shared in this article were helpful and practical.
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