How to Change the Recycle Bin Icon on Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10

The Windows Operating System prides itself with offering a multitude of customization and personalization options to its users. From the wallpaper they see on their Desktop to the icon of a file or folder in Windows Explorer, there is a lot a Windows user can change and customize to their liking on their computer. Among the many personalization options Windows users have is the ability to change the icons of all the elements they see on their Desktop – this includes the Computer, Documents, and, yes, the Recycle Bin.

Changing the Recycle Bin icon is possible on all versions of the Windows Operating System that are currently supported by Microsoft, and was also a feature on much older versions of Windows. In addition, Microsoft made a point of making sure customization on the Windows Operating System is a breeze, which is why changing the icon of your Recycle Bin on your Desktop is also pretty easy regardless of what version of Windows you have on your computer. However, it should be noted that the steps you need to go through in order to change the icon of the Recycle Bin on your Desktop vary slightly depending on what version of Windows you have.

Without further ado, here’s what you need to do in order to change the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop on a Windows computer:

On Windows 7

If you’re using Windows 7, all you need to do to change the icon of the Recycle Bin on your Desktop is:

1. Navigate to your Desktop.
2. Right-click on an empty space on your Desktop, and click on Personalize.
3. In the left pane of the Personalization window, locate and click on Change desktop icons. This will cause the Desktop Icon Settings window to appear.
4. Click on whichever Recycle Bin icon you want to change to select it (you have recycle (full) and recycle (empty) to choose from – these are the icons that your Recycle Bin is displayed as when it is full or when it is empty, respectively).
5. Click on Change Icon….
6. Look through all of the available icons, locate whichever icon you want your Recycle Bin‘s icon changed to, click on it to select it, and click on OK. Alternatively, if you want to use a custom icon for your Recycle Bin, click on Browse…, navigate to the location on your computer where the custom icon is saved, click on the custom icon to select it, click on Open, click on the custom icon in the Change Icon dialog to select it and click on OK.
7. Click on Apply and then on OK.

On Windows 8 and 8.1

If you are using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, to change the Recycle Bin icon, you will need to:

1. Press the Windows Logo key + F to open the Search panel.
2. Type “recycle bin” into the Search field, click on Settings and click on the search result titled Show or hide common icons on the Desktop. Doing so will cause the Desktop Icon Settings window to pop up.
3. Click on recycle (full) or recycle (empty) depending on which state of the Recycle Bin you want to change the icon of to select it, and click on Change Icon….
4. Look through all of the available icons, locate whichever icon you want your Recycle Bin‘s icon changed to, click on it to select it, and click on OK. Alternatively, if you want to use a custom icon for your Recycle Bin, click on Browse…, navigate to the location on your computer where the custom icon is saved, click on the custom icon to select it, click on Open, click on the custom icon in the Change Icon dialog to select it and click on OK.
5. Click on Apply and then on OK.

On Windows 10

If your computer is running on the latest and greatest iteration of the Windows Operating System and you want to change the Recycle Bin icon, you will have to:

1. Open the Start Menu.
2. Click on Settings.
3. Click on Personalization.
4. In the left pane of the window, click on Themes.
5. In the right pane of the window, locate and click on Desktop icon settings under the Related Settings section.
6. Click on recycle (full) or recycle (empty) depending on which state of the Recycle Bin you want to change the icon of to select it.
7. Click on Change Icon….
8. Look through all of the available icons, locate whichever icon you want your Recycle Bin‘s icon changed to, click on it to select it, and click on OK. Alternatively, if you want to use a custom icon for your Recycle Bin, click on Browse…, navigate to the location on your computer where the custom icon is saved, click on the custom icon to select it, click on Open, click on the custom icon in the Change Icon dialog to select it and click on OK.
9. Click on Apply and then on OK.

How to fix Windows 10 Recycle Bin icons not refreshing

The Recycle Bin’s desktop shortcut usually automatically changes to alternative full or empty icons when users delete files or clear the bin. However, some users have posted on Microsoft’s forum about their Recycle Bins not refreshing to empty or full icons. When they clear their Windows Recycle Bins, the desktop shortcuts for them don’t refresh to the empty bin icons. That bug can arise for Recycle Bins with custom or default icon sets.

How Can Users Fix Recycle Bin Icons not Refreshing?

1. Edit the Registry

1. Users have fixed Recycle Bins with custom icons not refreshing by editing the DefaultIcon key. To do that, launch Run by pressing the Windows key + R hotkey.
2. Input ‘regedit’ and click OK in Run to open the Registry Editor.
3. Next, open this registry key path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CLSID\<645ff040-5081-101b-9f08-00aa002f954e>\DefaultIcon. Users can copy and paste that path into the Registry Editor’s address bar with the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + Vhotkeys.
4. Select the DefaultIcon key.
5. Next, double-click the (Default) string on the right of the Registry Editor to open the window below.
   
6. Enter ‘,0’ after the icon file path as shown in the snapshot directly below. For example, %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\Seanau-Email-Trash.ico would become: %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\Seanau-Email-Trash.ico,0.
7. Then repeat the above steps for the empty and full strings in the DefaultIcons key. Then the empty and full strings should also include ‘,0’ at the end of their value data paths much the same as the (Default) string as in the image directly below.

2. Rebuild the Thumbnail Cache

1. Rebuilding the thumbnail cache might fix Recycle Bin icons not refreshing. To do that, open File Explorer by pressing the Windows key + E hotkey.
2. Then open this folder path in File Explorer: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer.
3. Select all the .db files in the folder.
4. Click the Delete button.
5. Restart Windows after deleting the .db files in the Explorer folder.

3. Select Empty and Full Recycle Bin Icons

1. This is a resolution more specifically for fixing default Recycle Bin icons that aren’t refreshing. Right-click the Windows 10 desktop and select Personalize.
2. Click Themes on the left of the window, and scroll down to the Desktop icon settings option.
3. Click Desktop icon settings to open the window shown directly below.
4. Select Recycle Bin (full), and press the Change Icon button.
5. Select the empty Recycle Bin icon in the Change Icon window, and click the OK button.
6. Select Recycle Bin (empty), click Change Icon, and choose the full Recycle Bin icon. Click the OK button to exit the window.
7. Click the Apply button.
8. Then try deleting something to the Recycle Bin to see if the icon changes to empty, or empty the bin to see if it refreshes to the full icon. If it does, return to the Desktop Icons tab and change Recycle Bin full and empty so they show their correct icons.

4. Reset the Recycle Bin

Resetting the Recycle Bin via the Command Prompt might also fix its icons. Enter ‘cmd’ in Run’s Open box, and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter hotkey. Input ‘rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin’ in the Command Prompt, and press the Return key.

So, that’s how users can fix Recycle Bin icons that don’t refresh. Then the Recycle Bin’s desktop icon will refresh when users delete files to or clear their bins in Windows.

RELATED ARTICLES TO CHECK OUT:

Download Recycle Bin icon from Windows 10 build 10056

Thanks to Windows 10 build 10056 getting leaked, we could lay our hands on it and play with it for a while to discover some of the changes and new features. One of the most exciting and most awaited changes for many users is the Recycle Bin icon. Interested users can download the Recycle Bin icon from Windows 10 build 10056 and use it in their current Windows version. Here you go.

To apply the Recycle Bin icon to your Windows version, you need to do the following:

1. Right click on an empty area of the Desktop and pick «Personalize» from the context menu:
2. The Personalization window will be opened, click «Change desktop icons» link on the left:
3. In «Desktop Icon Settings», change the two Recycle bin icons to the ones which you can download using the link below.

You are done. Now your Windows has the latest Recycle Bin icon created by Microsoft.

Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options:

Share this post

About Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer from Russia who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

3 thoughts on “ Download Recycle Bin icon from Windows 10 build 10056 ”

It’s nice but if you pin this new recycle bin in the taskbar as I did, you don’t see any difference when it’s empty or not. I mean the logo doesn’t change.

It is well known bug in latest Windows versions.

How to Change the Default Recycle Bin Icon in Windows 10?

Recycle Bin is one of the most important tools in Windows operating system. The tool acts as a same filter, that helps you check the things you have deleted once more before permanently removing them from your computer. The tool provides you option to restore the deleted images so that you don’t lose any of your data. Windows 10 has polished the look of the tool and if you want, you can also customize it. The following tutorial will show you to the process of changing the default Recycle Bin icon in Windows 10.

Steps to Change the Default Recycle Bin Icon in Windows 10

1. Open Start Menu and go to Settings.

2. Go to Personalization.

3. Tap on Themes.

4. In the right panel, you will find Related Settings. Under that click on Desktop Icon Settings.

5. Select Recycle Bin. Click on Change Icon. Choose an icon and click OK.

Click Apply and then OK.

About Nick

Nick is a Software Engineer. He has interest in gadgets and technical stuffs. If you are facing any problem with your Windows, feel free to ask him.