Hiding the Desktop Recycling Bin

If you find the recycling bin on your desktop to take up too much space or you would just rather not have it there, you can easily remove it.

1. First off we will need to startup regedit.exe so you can edit your registry. Go to your Start Menu and then Run and type in regedit.exe.

As always, remember to backup your registry before making any edits. Now you will need to determine which Start Menu style you are using.

If you are using the Classic style you will need to go to step 2 but if you are using the new Windows XP style you will need to skip to step 3.

2. If you are using the Classic Start Menu
While in regedit.exe browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu\ and create a new DWORD value of {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}. Set it to the value of 1.

3.If you are using the new Windows XP Start Menu
While in regedit.exe browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel\ and create a new DWORD value of {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}. Set it to the value of 1.

4.To return the recycling bin to its previous state, just set the value of the DWORD you created to 0.