TAKE A WINDOWS LOOK INSIDE THE RECYCLE BIN

The Recycle Bin in Windows 95/98 works at two separate levels: the Windows level and disk level. Here's a look inside the Recycle Bin at the Windows level.

On a Win9x system, each hard drive contains a hidden folder named Recycled. When files are deleted, they're moved to the \recycled folder on the disk from which they were deleted. Then they're renamed using the following convention:

d<original drive letter><sequential number of file deleted from that drive>.<original extension>

For example, a file named c:\docs\me.txt, which is the fifth file deleted from drive C, is renamed dc5.txt in the \recycled folder on drive C. This is matched up with a file named INFO, or INFO2 in Win98, which catalogs all the original file paths with the renamed files.

After you open the Recycle Bin, the catalog--the INFO(2) file--is scanned and original filenames are displayed. The original extensions are retained, so the file association feature of Windows allows the files to show the correct icon, such as Word and Excel.

When a file is restored, the original path and filename are read from the INFO(2) file, and the file is moved back to its original place. Emptying the Recycle Bin causes its contents to be permanently deleted, and the INFO(2) file starts again from scratch.