Is this caused by a virus or trojan?

Hi,

I have Windows XP Home SP2. When I first got my machine (HP Pavilion
zt3350EA), everything worked fine. But now, whenever I delete a file, it
just disappears without appearing in the Recycle Bin first. I have
unchecked the option to delete files without placing them in the Bin, so I
am now baffled.

Also, no matter what I do, the Bin always claims it has something in it. I
open it, and there is nothing there...But when I click
to empty it, it asks me if I want to empty it as if it is housing deleted
files.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Neil

Neil Barras wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have Windows XP Home SP2. When I first got my machine (HP Pavilion
> zt3350EA), everything worked fine. But now, whenever I delete a file, it
> just disappears without appearing in the Recycle Bin first. I have
> unchecked the option to delete files without placing them in the Bin, so I
> am now baffled.
>
> Also, no matter what I do, the Bin always claims it has something in it. I
> open it, and there is nothing there...But when I click
> to empty it, it asks me if I want to empty it as if it is housing deleted
> files.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Neil
>
>
Try this one - I feel you've already checked these but have a look and
double check.

Deleted items don’t go to the Recycle Bin

There are a number of reasons for files and folders to bypass the
Recycle Bin. First, Windows designed the Recycle Bin to hold only items
you delete from the hard drive. When you delete items from a floppy
diskette or removable media, such as a Zip drive, Windows bypasses the
Recycle Bin and deletes them. This rule also applies to files and
folders stored on another computer. For example, if you network several
PCs in your home, files that you delete on a different PC are not placed
in the Recycle Bin. Another consideration is the Recycle Bin’s
Properties settings. If your Recycle Bin is deactivated, all items you
delete are permanently deleted. To check whether the Recycle Bin is
deactivated, right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your Desktop, click
Properties, and click the Global tab in the Recycle Bin Properties
dialog box. If the Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin. Remove Files
Immediately When Deleted checkbox is selected, the Recycle Bin is turned
off. Click to clear the checkbox and click OK. Note that this option may
instead display on the individual hard drive tabs of the Recycle Bin’s
Properties dialog box. This occurs if you select Configure Drives
Independently on the Global tab. Finally, because the Recycle Bin is a
Windows feature, it is not available at the command prompt level. If you
delete files at a C: prompt using the DEL command, for example, the
files bypass the Recycle Bin and are permanently deleted.

-Smart Computing

Sh4d03

P.S. Do you have any Norton Utitlies Installed? Especially norton System
Works? This suite has the protected recylce bin which could be a lage
part of your problem.

Also... what happens if you do this:
Open Windows Explorer
Click Tools | Options | View
tick show hidden files or folders
untick hide operating system files (recommended)
Now browse to C:\ and see if there is a folder there called 'RECYLCER'

If there isn't, that's your problem and we'll need to find out how to
re-create that.

Sh4d03

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Thanks,
Sh4d03