Add “Empty Recycle Bin” to your Right-Click Menu
If you want to quickly empty your recycle bin, instead of minimizing the desktop and going to the Recycle Bin you can simply right click any file on your computer and select Empty Recycle Bin. Here’s how.
Save the following entries in a text editor as a .REG file (e.g. emptybin.reg). Logon with an account that has administrative privileges. Double-click the .reg file to modify the registry. You will be prompted to add the information to the registry. You should see the Empty Recycle Bin added to the context menu for all files. [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Empty Recycle Bin] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Empty Recycle Bin] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Empty Recycle Bin] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\Empty Recycle Bin]
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
@=”Empty Recycle Bin”
@=”{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}”
@=”{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}”
@=”{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}”
@=”{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}”
I’ve tested this successfully on Windows XP Professional computers. If you can’t get it to work, feel free to contact me.
Update: May 23, 2007: I tested the .reg file successfully on 32-bit Windows Vista.
Dennis,
I just tested it successfully on 32-bit Windows Vista but haven’t had a chance to test it on 64-bit Vista. Have you tried it on 64-bit Vista? Did it not work?
Have you been able to accomplish adding “Empty Recycle Bin” to your Right-Click Menu to Vista 64?
It doesn’t work on 64 bit OSs, and I used this for years on XP 32 bit and I am really missing it now.
If anyone comes up with a 64 bit version, PLEASE let me know.
Thank you for sharing this nice little tweak! 🙂
Stay healthy and safe
~Corey
@Corey: Thanks for your feedback. Stay safe!