Part 2 (I posted this March 29, 2003 at 00:40:09 Pacific) and had some advice. Have two hard drives (C,D;) whenever I delete a file (eg jpeg) from either my C or D drive it does not go to the recycle bin. I have gone to Recycle Bin>Properties> and ensured the Use One Setting For All Drives is marked and the other boxes are UnChecked. I have also tried Configure Drives Indepentently but to no avail. I have also checked other postings but none seem to solve it. I would be grateful if anyone had any other advice/suggestions. Many Thanks~~~~~~ Since the above posting I have now established that when I delete ANY file (jpeg/exe/mp3's etc) from my main C drive it does go to the recycle bin but I cannot see it. If I open up my recycle bin it will show no files there; but if I click on "Empty Recycle Bin" it will ask me if 'I am sure I want to delete these x number of items' (although I still cannot see what they are) I know you can hide some files but these are just run of the mill files. Has anyone any advice/idea what to do. Thanks

I believe you are next door to a format and reinstall... this problem also indicates a possible bad hard disk.. however, for now try the following "Clean" the Recycle Bin: START at the DOS Prompt; not from Shutdown/Dos. To start with the DOS Prompt, start with the System Off. Then, while starting the system, hit the F8 key when the prompt ‘Starting Windows’ appears {or just a bit sooner is better} prior to the Windows Start-Up Screen. This menu contains several choices, choose ‘Command Prompt Only’ C:\> Type the following: C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\Deltree C:\RECYCLED Note the space between Deltree and the C:\ Hit Enter. You will be warned that all content will be lost if you delete this folder. Are you sure you want to do this? Say Yes. Repeat for each drive - example C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\Deltree D:\RECYCLED The Recycled folder will be recreated when you reboot to windows. The corrupted Recycle Bin may take a while to delete (20 minutes ?) This occurrence will confirm that corruption did really occur. Now, run ScanDisk with a Thorough Surface Scan. Still at the DOS Prompt, type: C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SCANDISK /all /autofix /nosave /nosummary /surface Hit Enter. Be Careful of the spaces. I will retype replacing the spaces with an underscore to show them better. {C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SCANDISK_/all_/autofix_/nosave_/nosummary_/surface} Suggest running this just before going to bed. Wish you luck

THANK YOU; firstly for your time and secondly it done it. Recycle bin back to nornal now :-) I have not run scandisk yet because as you said it might take all night. Regarding Scandisk is this something one should run regular in XP because as you know it is not a normal system tool. Once again thank you

The Eagle To run chkdsk (Scandisk) - right click on your C:\ Drive - Properties - Tools Tab - Error Checking - check 'Automatically fix Errors' - you'll probably get a message to the effect that the Drive is in use - do you want it scheduled for the next re-Start - say Yes and then re-start Run it weekly or thereabouts It is a 'normal' tool Chkdsk can also be Run from the Command Prompt using various switches Lesley

Ryan PS - I have a 30 Gb HDD (half full)and 'scandisk' takes about 10- 15 Mins when the Computer re-starts Lesley