Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • YouTube Videos
  • Top Categories
  • Subscribe via Email
  • Ask A Question
  • Meet Dave
  • Home
  • Windows PC Help
  • How Do I Disable The Empty Trash Confirmation in Windows?

How Do I Disable The Empty Trash Confirmation in Windows?

May 24, 2022 / Dave Taylor / Windows PC Help / 1 Comment

Every single time I go to empty the Recycle Bin in Windows 11, I have to confirm that’s what I really want to do. It is. Every time. So is there a way to get rid of that annoying confirmation window on my PC?

Are you sure you want to ask a question? Are you really, really sure? Just kidding! Yes, while I too appreciate a user interface that protects me from daft mistakes, sometimes the confirmations and assurances can be a bit much. Case in point: every time you go to empty your trash, err, “recycle bin”, Windows wants you to confirm that’s what you want to do. Just do it, man!

Somewhere along the way in the history of Windows, the development team got the message and Windows has had a way to disable the confirmation window for quite a while. The key to accessing that setting is to realize that your Recycle Bin is just another icon, like a file or folder, so it has properties, including that exact setting. Not only that, but you can rename it too!

HOW TO ACCESS RECYCLE BIN SETTINGS AND PROPERTIES

To start out, here’s the infamous confirmation window that I would guess at least 80% of PC users dislike at this point:

win11 pc - recycle bin empty trash - are you sure?

As you say, if you didn’t want to empty the trash, you wouldn’t have chosen the “Empty Trash” option. It’s not that big a deal to click on “Yes” if it is indeed what you want to do, but click on “No” instead. Now right-click on the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop:

win11 pc - recycle bin empty trash - right click menu

If you have files or other stuff in your bin, you can choose “Empty Recycle Bin” from here, but instead choose “Properties” and an old-style Windows 95-esque properties window opens up:

win11 pc - recycle bin empty trash - properties

The box to uncheck is at the bottom: “Display delete confirmation dialog”. Uncheck that, click Apply and you’re done.

But while we’re here, notice that you can either set a maximum size for the contents of your Recycle Bin or change it to immediately delete files when dragged into the Trash. I have mine set to the default: A whopping 49GB. Seems weirdly high, so you can shrink that down to a gigabyte or even less if you’re so inclined. Or just don’t mess with it.

BONUS: HOW TO RENAME YOUR RECYCLE BIN

While we’re fiddling with these settings, it’s worth noting that you can also rename your Recycle Bin if you decide that the name “Recycle Bin” is a bit silly. Right-click on the icon again, then choose “Rename” from the menu…

win11 pc - recycle bin empty trash - rename recycle bin icon

Just like anything else in Windows, you can now type in the new name as you desire. Here’s what I picked:

win11 pc - recycle bin empty trash - new name dumpster

What I really want now is to be able to change the icon so that it’s an empty dumpster when the trash is empty and a burning dumpster when there are files within. That’s a bit more tricky, however, but you can do that by going into Personalization > Themes to customize your icons. Be careful, though, many of the appearance personalization utilities can also be spyware since particularly if they change cursor icons, they’re being installed at a layer of the OS that lets them monitor everything you do. Maybe the recycle bin icon + rename is sufficient for now, after all. Your call.

Pro Tip: I’ve been writing about Windows since the beginning. While you’re here, please check out my extensive Windows help area for hundreds of other useful tutorials and how-to articles. Thanks!

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!
disable confirmation prompt, pc recycle bin, rename recycle bin

One comment on “How Do I Disable The Empty Trash Confirmation in Windows?”

  1. Ernest N. Wilcox Jr. says:
    May 25, 2022 at 2:24 pm

    I create custom icons with Greenfish Icon Editor. I search for an image I like on the Internet, download it, then open it in Greenfish, then if needed, I edit the appearance if the image (usually by making the background field transparent), then I click the ‘icon’ menu to create a Windows icon from the image.

    Go look for the images you want to use, (one for the ’empty dumpster’ and another for the ‘burning dumpster’), create icons from them and use your new custom icons in ‘Personalization > Themes’ to change icon for each Dumptser setting (empty, and full).

    Ernie

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • Can I Calculate Mortgage Payments with Online Tools?
  • How Do I Find Available Disk Space on my Mac System?
  • How to Identify Plants and Flowers with Google Lens on Android?
  • Windows Security Wants Me to Enable “App & Browser Control”?
  • Can I Change the Theme & Layout on Comcast Web Mail?

On Our YouTube Channel

Acer Chromebook 317 -- Budget 17.3" Laptop -- REVIEW

1More ComfoBuds Mini ANC Earbuds -- REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help, (161)
  • Android Help (197)
  • Apple iPad Help (144)
  • Apple Watch Help (52)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (344)
  • Auto Tech Help (11)
  • Business Advice (199)
  • Chrome OS Help (23)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (762)
  • d) None of the Above (165)
  • Facebook Help (383)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (177)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (245)
  • Instagram Help (47)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (604)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • Kindle & Nook Help (92)
  • LinkedIn Help (85)
  • Linux Help (164)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (86)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (891)
  • Most Popular (16)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (24)
  • PayPal Help (69)
  • Pinterest Help (53)
  • Reddit Help (17)
  • SEO & Marketing (81)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (92)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (217)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows PC Help (915)
  • Wordpress Help (204)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (46)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (56)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2022 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy