Answer
This question was answered on June 23, 1999.
Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.
The purpose of the Recycle Bin in Windows 95/98/NT is to give you a quick way to restore a file that you may have inadvertently “thrown away”. When a file is placed inside the Recycle Bin it has not been deleted from your system but simply placed in a different part of your hard drive. Your actually just “moving” the file instead of deleting it. If the files in the Recycle Bin were needed for anything, you would have experienced an error message or a problem by now. A good rule of thumb for files in the Recycle Bin is to keep files that you are not familiar with for about 30 days just in case you learn that you actually needed them. In most every case, if the file is needed for any programs, you will experience an error message within this 30-day time frame. If you recognize the files, such as your old word processing or spreadsheet documents, you can remove them immediately. To selectively “Empty” your Recycle Bin, double-click the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop, then right-click on the file and select the delete option. To put a file back where it came from, right-click on it then choose the “Restore” option. This will place the file back to its original location. Only when you delete files from your Recycle Bin will you clear the disk space that they are taking.
