Windows OS - What is Recycle Bin

What is the Recycle Bin?

The Recycle Bin lets you restore deleted objects

The Active Directory Recycle Bin, an optional feature of AD DS, provides a simplified process for restoring deleted objects. With Active Directory Recycle Bin, administrators can restore deleted objects with full functionality, without having to restore AD DS data from backups, and then restart AD DS or reboot domain controllers. For example, restored user accounts automatically regain all group memberships and corresponding access rights that they had immediately before deletion, within and across domains.

Enabling the Recycle Bin

The Recycle Bin is enabled at the domain level

By default, the Recycle Bin is not enabled. To enable the Recycle Bin you can use the Active Directory Administrative Center, or Windows PowerShell. Once the Recycle Bin is enabled, the Deleted Objects container will be displayed.

Remember these things when enabling the Recycle Bin

• The Active Directory Recycle Bin feature was added in Windows Server 2008 R2.
• Once you enable the Recycle Bin, you cannot disable it.
• Only items deleted after the Recycle Bin is enabled can be restored from the Deleted Objects container.
• There are prerequisites for the forest functional level and the schema, so be sure to read the Requirements for Active Directory Recycle Bin page.

Windows OS - Working of Recycle Bin

How does the Recycle Bin work?

Recycle Bin steps

1. When an Active Directory object is deleted, the system preserves all of the object's attributes, and the object becomes logically deleted.
2. A deleted object moves to the Deleted Objects container, and its distinguished name is obscured. This means you will not be able to search for the object without including the Deleted Objects container. During this time the deleted object can be recovered from the Recycle bin.
3. A deleted object remains in the Deleted Objects container throughout the duration of the deleted object lifetime setting. By default, this is 180 days.
4. After the deleted object lifetime value expires, the deleted object is turned into a recycled object and most of its attributes are stripped away.
5. After the recycled object lifetime expires, the garbage-collection process physically deletes the recycled object from the database.

Windows OS - Restoring Recycle Bin Items

How do you restore items from the Recycle Bin?

Restoring objects from the Deleted Object container is easy

You can use Active Directory Administrative Center. You can choose to restore the objects to their original location or to an alternate location within AD DS. You can also use PowerShell, Restore-ADObject.