Medley Recycle Bin FAQ

How is the Medley Recycle Bin different than the Recycle Bin on a regular hard drive?
The Recycle Bin on the Medley drive is different from the Recycle Bin on a regular hard drive in that it is shared by all users. This means the following:

• when you put a file in the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive, that file will show up in the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive on all computers in the pool.
• when you take a file out of the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive, that file will be removed from the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive on all computers in the pool.
• when you empty the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive, generally all files are deleted from the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive on all computers in the pool - for more info, see the FAQ "What exactly happens when I empty it?"

How is Recycle Bin on the Medley drive different than the Recycle Bin on a shared network drive?
There is no Recycle Bin on a shared network drive! If you delete a file from a shared network drive, it is gone - the only way to recover it is from a backup device. Medley provides you the extra protection that you're used to with a regular hard drive.

The Medley Recycle Bin is shared by all computers. What exactly happens when I empty it?
Whenever a user empties the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive, Windows will delete all the files that they have sufficient Medley security privileges to delete. Therefore, you should remember that if you put unsecured files in the Recycle Bin, other users are able to delete them.

In addition, in some rare circumstances, Windows will corrupt the index that lists the contents of the Medley Recycle Bin without affecting the files themselves. Problems you may see include:

• files remain on the Medley Drive, but are not displayed in the Medley Recycle Bin, occupying space and making it difficult to restore files
• an "unable to delete" error appears when emptying the Recycle Bin

You can avoid these problems by deleting files without using the Recycle Bin or recover the files as described in the section "Windows corrupted the index...".

I put a file in the Medley Recycle Bin and it's gone. Why?
If another user emptied the Medley Recycle Bin after you put your file in it, your file will have been deleted, unless its security settings prevented the other user from deleting the file. For more information on securing files, see "How do I secure files...".

Alternatively, in some rare circumstances, Windows will corrupt the index that lists the contents of the Medley Recycle Bin without affecting the files themselves. For information on recovering files under these circumstances, see "Windows corrupted the index...".

If I put a file in the Medley Recycle Bin, can another user take it out of the Medley Recycle Bin?
Yes, if they have access to the file. If you restrict access to a file, those restrictions will continue to apply, even when the file is in the Medley Recycle Bin. For additional information, see "How do I secure files...".

How do I delete files without using the Recycle Bin?
Sometimes you may want to delete files without using the Recycle Bin.

To delete files without using the Recycle Bin, select the file and hold the shift key when you press the delete key. Alternatively, you can turn off the Recycle Bin on the Medley drive by having each user of the Medley drive do the following:

• Point to the Recycle Bin on your desktop and right-click.
• Select Properties.
• Recycle Bin properties provides a "Global" tab, and one tab for each disk drive. Select the "Global" tab.
• Select the radio button labeled "Configure drives independently."
• Select the tab for the Medley drive; for example "(M:)"
• Check the box labeled "Do not move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately on delete."

Windows corrupted the index of the Medley Recycle Bin. How do I fix it?
If a file has disappeared from the Recycle Bin, it may have been deleted if another user emptied the Recycle Bin. Alternatively, Windows may not be displaying the file in the Recycle Bin. In the latter case, you can restore the file as follows:

• Issue the following commands in an MS-DOS window:
• M: (where M is your drive letter of your Medley drive)
• cd \
• attrib –s –h recycled
• ren recycled oldrecyc

You can now use Explorer, DOS, or other tools to examine and delete the lost files in the M:\oldrecyc directory. Although a file in the Recycle Bin can have a different name than the original, the file type is preserved. For example, if you see a .doc file, you can inspect it with Microsoft Word to decide whether to keep it. Medley security is retained on the files, so you can only manipulate files for which you have permission.

I'm seeing an "unable to delete" error when I empty the Medley Recycle Bin. Why? How do I fix it?
When you put a file in the Recycle Bin, only the users with sufficient privileges can delete it. If a user that does not have sufficient privileges attempts to empty the Recycle Bin, Windows will present the "unable to delete" error similar to:

Unable to delete DZ0

If you encounter this error, have each user delete their secured files by opening the Recycle Bin, selecting their files, and pressing the delete key. If they are unable to see their files in the Recycle Bin in Explorer, they can delete the file from the M:\recycled directory via MS-DOS.

How do I secure files to prevent other users from emptying them from Medley Recycle Bin?
Use the Medley file security feature to set the security of a file. If you restrict access to a file, those restrictions will continue to apply, even when the file is in the Medley Recycle Bin. For more information on Medley File Security, see the Medley File Security FAQ.

If a user empties the Medley Recycle Bin and it contains files to which they do not have access, they will get an error similar to:

Unable to delete DZ0