How to Fix a Recycle Bin Corrupted Error on Windows 10 & 11

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By Pankil Shah

Published Nov 13, 2023

A corrupted Recycle Bin means you can't recover or delete files permanently.

Resetting the Recycle Bin using Command Prompt can effectively fix the "The Recycle Bin on C:\ is corrupted" error on Windows. Use the command "rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin" to delete all files and restore the Recycle Bin to default settings.
If resetting the Recycle Bin doesn't work, try running a CHKDSK scan to check and repair your drive for bad sectors and file system errors. Use the command "chkdsk /r e:" to scan the specified drive.
Scan your computer for malware using Windows Defender, PowerShell, or a reliable third-party antivirus program. Eliminate any detected threats to rule out malware as the cause of the Recycle Bin corrupted error.