Remove Recycle Bin from Desktop with Powershell

Remove Recycle Bin from Desktop with Powershell

Learn how to programmatically remove the Recycle Bin icon from your Windows desktop using PowerShell commands, improving desktop aesthetics and preventing accidental access.

The Recycle Bin is a ubiquitous icon on Windows desktops, offering a safety net for deleted files. However, for many users or in certain managed environments, its presence on the desktop can be undesirable. It might clutter the desktop, or there could be a need to prevent users from easily accessing or restoring deleted items. While Windows offers a GUI option to hide it, PowerShell provides a powerful and scriptable way to manage this setting, making it ideal for automation across multiple systems.

Understanding the Recycle Bin's Desktop Presence

The visibility of the Recycle Bin on the desktop is controlled by a specific registry key. Modifying this key directly impacts whether the icon appears. PowerShell, with its ability to interact with the Windows Registry, is the perfect tool for this task. We'll be targeting a key within the HKCU (HKEY_CURRENT_USER) hive, which means changes will apply specifically to the user executing the script.

Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel' -Name '{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}'

This command can be used to check the current state of the Recycle Bin icon's visibility.

PowerShell Method to Hide the Recycle Bin

To hide the Recycle Bin, we need to set the value of a specific registry entry. The registry entry is a GUID {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} located under HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel. Setting its value to 1 (one) will hide the icon, while 0 (zero) will show it. This change usually takes effect immediately or after a user logs off and back on, or after restarting the Explorer process.

# Define the registry path and property name
$regPath = 'HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel'
$propertyName = '{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}'

# Set the value to 1 to hide the Recycle Bin
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name $propertyName -Value 1 -Force

Write-Host "Recycle Bin icon has been hidden from the desktop."

# Optional: Restart Explorer to apply changes immediately
# (Note: This will close all open explorer windows and taskbar will briefly disappear)
# taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
# Start-Process explorer.exe

This PowerShell script hides the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop.

Process flow for hiding the Recycle Bin using PowerShell

Reverting the Change and Showing Recycle Bin

Should you need to bring the Recycle Bin icon back to the desktop, the process is just as simple. You merely need to set the same registry value back to 0. This flexibility allows for easy toggling of the icon's visibility as needed, which is particularly useful for system administrators managing user environments.

# Define the registry path and property name
$regPath = 'HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel'
$propertyName = '{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}'

# Set the value to 0 to show the Recycle Bin
Set-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name $propertyName -Value 0 -Force

Write-Host "Recycle Bin icon has been restored to the desktop."

# Optional: Restart Explorer to apply changes immediately
# taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
# Start-Process explorer.exe

This PowerShell script restores the Recycle Bin icon to the desktop.

1. Step 1

Open PowerShell as a regular user (not necessarily as administrator, as this affects HKCU).

2. Step 2

Copy the provided PowerShell script to hide the Recycle Bin.

3. Step 3

Paste the script into the PowerShell window and press Enter.

4. Step 4

Observe the Recycle Bin icon disappear from the desktop.

5. Step 5

To revert, copy the script to show the Recycle Bin and execute it.