Do Not Send Deleted Files to Recycle Bin

by Wayne Maples [Published on 20 April 2004 / Last Updated on 20 April 2004]

Delete files and not send them to NTs Recycle Bin.

If you are cleaning trash files and you are sure that you will not want to recover the files, you can delete them without sending them to the recycle bin. In Explorer, hold down the shift key as you right-click the file or directory icon and choose delete from the context menu. When deleted, the selected files will not go to the recycle bin and thus can not be recovered except by a restore from external backup media.

You achieve the same result by holding down the shift key and dragging and dropping an Explorer icon onto the Recycle Bin.

This tip applies to all versions of Windows including Windows NT / Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

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