Windows 10: when I double click any desktop icon it opens the recycle bin instead

When I double click any icon on my desktop, it opens the recycle bin instead. When I right click any icon I get the recycle bin drop down. I can open folders and files via the taskbar and start menu but not the desktop. Then suddenly, things might go back to normal. Not sure why except one time I tried to rename a file and got an error message 0x8000401 and then things worked normally again. If I restart or come out of sleep, the problem returns. Also, when I'm reading emails while this desktop problem is active, some of my emails won't scroll down - they "resist" and then snap back up.

:)

 

Missing desktop icons and recycle bin

No problems on the current Windows 10 on three computers I have running dual screens. Desktop Icons only appear on the primary screen.

All icons including the Recycle Bin not showing. The Recycle Bin could be the cause.

There was a bug / glitch during the Insider Preview builds that would flash up a message saying the Recycle Bin was corrupted or missing.

It seems that the Recycle Bin attempts to build a list of recycled files on all the drives on the computer. If the recycled files id is out of sync, that caused the bin to fail.

Suggest:

Copy some files; then delete them; then reboot and see if the Recycle Bin appears.

 

How do I get the recycle bin to open a window when I double click the recycle bin icon, it just started doing this but it only stays minimized

Hello,

To resolve the issue with your Recycle Bin, we suggest resetting it. To do so, please follow the steps below:

• Press Windows key+x and then select Command Prompt (Admin).
• Copy and paste rd /s /q C:\$Recycle.bin and then hit
  Enter.
• Exit Command Prompt.

Let us know the result.

 

Lost Recycle Bin in Windows 10

Hello,

We highly suggest to follow the steps below:

• Click the Start button , type desktop icons into the search box, and then click Show or hide common icons on the desktop.
• In the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, do one of the following: To hide the Recycle Bin, clear the Recycle Bin check box. ...
  
• Click OK.

Let us know how it goes.