ok my recycle bin is gone. i think the registry key might of gotten erased when trying to remove norton system works information. someone please tell me how to get it back. i have tried using repair on the winxp boot cd, but when i select repair, it just brings me to the c:\winnt\ prompt, like a dos type thingy.

is it just missing from the desktop? Is it still there when you open up windows explorer or my computer?

Download Tweak UI you should be able to re-enable your recytcle bin under the Desktop options http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/tweaku Super Play

desktop options is also in your display settings. That is what I was getting at. If recycle bin appears in file manager or my computer, then it is still in the registry. If that is so, you can just right click on your desktop and then left click on properties. Under one of the tabs, the desktop options is there. You just check the items that you want to appear on your desktop.

To the guy above. That option doesn't exist for the recycle bin. Cathy are you still able to delete things to the recycle bin? If so don't worry your recycle bin is still there. Actually your problem probably is simply a matter of a wandering desktop. Since Windows code does not permit the recyclebin icon to either be deleted or moved into another folder, yours probably got moved until it is hanging by a single pixel off the edge of your monitor display and thus seems to have disappeared. A feature called Auto Arrange will restore your recycle bin on the desktop. Right click on the desktop and click on the choice Arrange Icons in the box that comes up. Pick Auto Arrange in the next menu, and all of the icons on your desktop will snap to an invisible grid and line up on the left-hand side of the screen. You will find that the Recycle icon is among them.

If the above doesn't work cathy and you want to edit the registry to restore your recycle bin then follow these instructons. Click on Start/Run type regedit then click OK Click on the + sign alongside the line HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE then scroll to SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace (This is called a key) Right-mouse click the NameSpace key, choose New and then Key, and name the new key exactly: {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} In the right pane, right-mouse click (Default), choose Modify, and in the resulting dialog box, type Recycle Bin on the Value data line. Click OK and close the Registry Editor. Right Click the desktop and choose refresh in the menu. The Recycle Bin icon should be back. If you get any probs doing this I can send you a .reg file which will automatically do this for you.

it was the reg problem thanks everyone