Windows June Update Triggers Recycle Bin File‑Name Glitch

If you’ve just installed the June 2023 Windows update, you might have noticed something odd when you open the Recycle Bin: instead of the familiar list of filenames, you get a jumble of characters, empty entries, or even generic placeholders like “File” with no extension. It’s not a prank – it’s a bug that slipped through Microsoft’s testing pipeline.

The offending update, identified as KB5029262, was rolled out to most Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines earlier this month. While the patch aimed to improve security and performance, a small but critical piece of code that handles how the system reads file metadata in the Recycle Bin appears to be misbehaving.

What users are reporting is fairly consistent: after the update, right‑clicking a file in the Recycle Bin and selecting “Properties” still shows the correct original name, but the main window of the Recycle Bin lists garbled text or blank entries. In some cases, the problem is limited to certain file types (like PDFs or Word docs), while in others it affects every item in the bin.

Microsoft has confirmed the issue on its support forums and says engineers are actively working on a fix. Until a new cumulative update lands, the company recommends a few work‑arounds that may help you retrieve your files without the UI nightmare.

Temporary fixes you can try right now:

• Open the Recycle Bin, press Ctrl+A to select all items, then right‑click and choose “Restore.” The files will return to their original locations with their proper names intact, even if the list view looks broken.
• Use the command line: run dir /a /s C:\$Recycle.Bin from an elevated Command Prompt to view the underlying folder structure and recover files manually.
• Disable the problematic update temporarily via “View installed updates” in Settings, then reboot. This rolls the patch back, but you’ll lose any other improvements it provided.

All of these methods are a bit of a hassle, which is why most people are just waiting for Microsoft’s next patch. The company has hinted that a small hotfix will be pushed within the next few weeks, restoring the Recycle Bin’s normal behavior.

In the meantime, it’s a good reminder to keep regular backups – not because Windows is unreliable, but because a stray update can turn a simple task like emptying the trash into a mini‑adventure.