Windows Vista - Recycle Bin Icon Errors

We had a client desktop running a Core 2 Duo E6420 based system with Windows Vista Business 32bit installed on it.

Lately, they had been having a weird experience with the Recycle Bin icon where it will not change from indicating "empty" to indicating "full" when something is deleted on the system.

Click on the desktop and hit the F5 key, and the icon changes. But, it would not automatically change with the Recycle Bin's status.

The process to fix it is actually quite easy:

1. Right click on the desktop and choose Personalize
2. Click on the "Change desktop icons" link near the top left corner
3. Click on the Recycle Bin (full) icon
4. Click the "Change Icon" button and choose the Empty Icon - it is just below
5. OK
6. Click on the Recycle Bin (empty)
7. Click the "Change Icon" button and choose the Full Icon - it is just above
8. OK
9. Apply and OK
10. Click on the "Change desktop icons" link near the top left corner
11. Reverse the above process to bring the icons back to the way they should be
12. Apply and OK
13. Close the Personalize appearance and sounds window.

The icons should now behave themselves.

Thanks to commenter Sam about half way down on ItsVista: ItsVISTA Tip 19: Restore Your Vista Recycle Bin Icon.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

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