How to Enable Delete Confirmation Dialog Box in Windows 8 and Later?

UPDATE: This tutorial will also work in Windows 8.1 and later.

A few months back when Windows 8 was under development and no testing build of Windows 8 was released to public, we told you that Microsoft is going to disable the delete confirmation dialog box in Windows 8:

Windows 8 Recycle Bin Will Not Warn You When You Delete a File

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In previous Windows versions, whenever you delete a file or folder, Windows asks for your confirmation before moving it to Recycle Bin but Microsoft has removed this confirmation dialog from Windows 8. In Windows 8 as soon as you press the “Delete” key, the selected file or folder is automatically deleted and moved to Recycle Bin without any confirmation prompt.

Many Windows 8 users like this move but there are some other people who are not liking this step. They want to bring back the delete confirmation dialog in Windows 8.

Delete_Confirmation_Box_Windows_8.png

If you also want to re-enable delete confirmation dialog in Windows 8, following steps will help you:

1. Right-click on Recycle Bin icon on Desktop and select Properties.

2. Now enable “Display delete confirmation dialog” option and apply the changes.

Enable_Delete_Confirmation_Dialog_Windows_8.png

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3. That’s it. It’ll re-enable the confirmation dialog box and now Windows will always ask for your confirmation before moving a file or folder to Recycle Bin.

UPDATE: A few readers have reported that the above mentioned option “Display delete confirmation dialog” is grayed out in their Windows. In other words, the option is disabled and can’t be enabled by users. In such case, it might be possible that the option was disabled by the Administrator or other users intentionally or accidentally using Group Policy or Windows Registry. If you are facing similar problem, you can enable or disable this option using group policy or Registry as mentioned in following steps:

Turn Delete Confirmation Prompt On / Off Using Group Policy Editor

1. Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box, then type gpedit.msc and press Enter. It’ll open Group Policy Editor.

2. Now go to:

User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Explorer / File Explorer

3. In right-side pane, double-click on “Display confirmation dialog when deleting files” option and set its value to “Enabled” to enable the confirmation dialog box or set it to “Disabled” to disable confirmation dialog box.

Turn Delete Confirmation Prompt On / Off Using Registry Editor

If you are using Home edition of Windows OS, you’ll not be able to run gpedit.msc command because this edition doesn’t come with Group Policy Editor.

If you can’t use or don’t want to use Group Policy Editor, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

3. In right-side pane, create a new DWORD ConfirmFileDelete and set its value to 1 to enable confirmation dialog box or set it to 0 to disable confirmation dialog box.

Simple, isn’t it? So do you also want the confirmation dialog back or happy with no confirmation prompt?

Published in: Troubleshooting Guides, Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Thanks I have many times deleted a file accidentally and had a hard time to find it, only to find it in a recycle bin

  2. Just purchased a new laptop and using the Windows 8.1 for the first time. I was disappointed by this feature. Thanks for giving the simple way in a concise manner. 🙂
    Regards
    Pulkit.

  3. Thank you! This answer was the first link I clicked on. It is nice to have an answer so quickly without having to search for hours. THANKS!

  4. Thanks for the tip! I need that option enable or else I will delete myself one day for being so careless! XD

  5. Just wanted to add my own enormous THANK YOU!!!!
    Such a strange choice to remove that functionality.

  6. Thanks so much! A great help. My computer seems to be super sensitive, and so I accidentally deleted a huge folder full of stuff a few months back. Since it was my only copy as it was on an external I was mildly frustrated to say the least. Hopefully won’t have to risk that happening again.

  7. When I found that windows 8 made the deletion of files without asking to confirm was scaring that I may accidentally delete unintended. Windows help was not of any use to suggest the same remedy you have pointed. Thanks a lot

  8. i was frusteted with this problem. but when i search about this problem i really love it.

    Thanks a Lot Sir posting this type of answer.

    Love you suggestions.

    thanks once again

  9. I had to try this with Regedit but the map in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies\Explorer doesn’t exist in my Windows 8.1.

    I tried making the DWORD in
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
    AND in
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Policies
    but that doesn’t work even after restart.

    DWORD has the value 0x00000001 (1) . I assume that’s correct for not having to confirm deleting.

    Is there anything else I can try?

  10. ^^ If the key doesnt exist, manually create Explorer key under Policies and then create new DWORD.

  11. Thanks for this quick and easy fix! I’d rather take the extra second to press ‘enter’ than to spit through my Recycle Bin when I accidentally delete files and can’t use Ctrl+z anymore! 😉

  12. This problem always makes me c.zy! Why do these kind of options change automatically after updating windows?!!!
    Any ways, Thanks a lot for sharing this point.

  13. To enable delete confirmation run follow:

    Reg.exe add “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer” /v “ShellState” /t REG_BINARY /d “240000003a28000000000000000000000000000001000000130000000000000072000000” /f

  14. Thank you, why windows 10 keep it disable by default? It is comfortable for me when Enable Delete Confirmation. Thanks.

  15. Thank you. It suddenly stopped alerting me. Glad to have this info. Have not got it back. 🙂

  16. In Windows 10 Pro you can enable/disable the delete confirmation dialog box by going to: User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> File Explorer

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