So, for whatever reason, they once again decided to change code that had been working fine for decades, and, as usual when this is done by people who have no idea what all the ramifications are, they broke it.

What is strange is that everything seems to be working fine here on my 25H2 version of Windows with the latest Windows Update. Then again, I haven' tried emptying the recycle bin since I do not want to lose the files there - only adding and removing files from it.

I don't get the <$filename> issue in the confirmation dialog they mention either.

Anyway, one thing I noticed, most of the time winstep.exe starts and exits so fast that the Windows Task Manager does not even have time to register it (and I have a Recycle Bin with nearly 1,500 items in it, SSDs are THAT fast). That might also explain why you are not seeing it in the Windows Task Manager.

Ok, give this new betas a try:

Winstep Xtreme beta:
https://www.winstep.net/xtreme-beta.zip

Nexus Ultimate beta:
https://www.winstep.net/ultimate-beta.zip

This is a beta and MUST be installed ON TOP of a full v26.4 OR LATER installation. Do NOT uninstall anything first, just exit all running Winstep applications and run the beta setup file.

There is no need to backup your settings first, but it does not hurt if you do either.

###

See if it at least fixes the transition from empty to full and vice-versa...

Shit… I only just found out about what happened. I’m really sorry, Picco.

I noticed that right away after patch Tuesday, but didn't pay any attention to it. I think that is the original issue people were posting about. I deleted a file named "Version". When I emptied the Recycle Bin the dialog listed the file name as $RJD3TTL.

The latest beta works perfectly on Windows 10. I'll give it a try tomorrow on Windows 11. I don't expect any problems, but if I do I'll let you know.

Thanks for all of you hard work, and on a weekend no less.

I guess I spoke too soon. I just noticed on Windows 10 that the balloon tooltip does not update if additional files are added to the Recycle Bin (I waited five minutes). It does update immediately if I delete one or more of those files.

Thank you so much for your empathy and condolences during these unexpected events I'm going through, but that's life, we have to face it and keep going.

Thanks again...

With the latest beta, under Windows 11, the Winstep Recycle Bin module seems to work better. When I delete something, it immediately displays the number of files deleted along with the balloon tooltip.

However, if I add a few files, it doesn't update. But if I open the contents of the Windows Recycle Bin, it immediately updates and adds the additional deleted files.

Ok, I have some bad news…

This whole situation is a perfect example of how the smallest details can completely change the picture.

When I said earlier that I wasn’t seeing the “$<weird filename>” issue here, I assumed it was happening on the standard Recycle Bin delete confirmation dialog. It turns out it only appears when you try to permanently delete a file from the Recycle Bin - and yes, I’m seeing it here as well.

But it gets worse. The reason I was still receiving normal notifications was simply because I had the Recycle Bin folder open in Explorer while testing, so I could quickly switch between deleting and restoring files.

I just repeated the test with the Recycle Bin folder closed, and in that scenario I receive no delete notifications at all. None. Windows now only sends those notifications if the Recycle Bin folder is actually open in Explorer.

The only reason the Recycle Bin module icon now updates correctly in the latest beta is because I added monitoring for the SHCNE_UPDATEIMAGE event (icon changed), and that one still seems to work reliably. Previously I didn’t need to rely on that event because deleting or restoring any file in the Recycle Bin - including emptying it - would trigger one of the other notifications.

I haven’t tested this next part yet, but if this behavior applies to all folders, it would mean that notifications for a folder and its contents are only sent when that folder is open in Explorer. If that’s true, it’s extremely problematic for folder‑type tabs in the Shelf, because the Shelf would have no way of knowing when the folder it’s displaying has been modified externally and needs to refresh its view.

I can only hope those at Microsoft in charge of making shell changes without first realizing all the implications - and who don't seem to understand why maintaining backwards compatibility is so important - were not THAT STUPID, but given the recent shell changes, I’m not entirely confident.

I think displaying the number of items in the bin and their total size is something unique to the Winstep's Recycle Bin module.

Unfortunately the changes MS made mean the count and size displayed in the tooltip when you hover the recycle bin module will be wrong most of the time, because the user might have added or removed files from the bin since the last count and the application will have received no notification about this.

As explained previously, I cannot simply call SHQueryRecycleBin just before displaying the tooltip because the call blocks and might take a relatively long time if there are thousands of files in the bin (this was MUCH worse in the hard disk era, but it is still a very expensive operation even with SSDs). For the same reason I cannot do this at regular intervals in the background - the current scheme was optimal because it only updated the values when there were actual changes in the bin.

I can still rely on calling winstep.exe to perform the actual work, but I still have to wait for an answer... which might be nearly instantaneous or take a long time. And in the mean time the user might dismiss the tooltip, or whatever... a bloody mess.

EDIT: And, of course, I forgot all about the Recycler Bin *desktop* module. That one will, more likely than not but depending on theme, display the number of items / total size *all the time*.

The only solution for that appears to be to periodically poll the Recycle Bin with SHQueryRecycleBin, which is a sure fire way to kill your laptop's battery in no time flat and keep your disks spinning all the time for something most users won't even bother looking at - but if they do and the numbers are wrong, guess who takes the fall for being "buggy"? Not Windows, for sure.

Nice. Not.

Ok, never mind. Figured out how to fix this by using a combination of the old Desktop root watcher and the new recycle bin watcher.

Experiencing something similar to this issue myself, recycle bin icon not updating when items are definitely in there.

New build, Fresh install of both Windows 11 and Nexus, everything up to date, drivers everything even the update manager says I am up to date.

Not impressed with a paid for app that isn't working as it should after a clean install of both operating system and the Nexus app itself on a completely brand spanking new PC.

Edition Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview Version 25H2
OS build 26220.8690
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.398.0

Processor AMD Ryzen 9 9900X 12-Core Processor (4.40 GHz)
Installed RAM 64.0 GB (61.6 GB usable)
Graphics card AMD Radeon RX 9070XT (16 GB)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Benchmarked with OCCT error free.

If you can offer a solution then great, I'll gladly try anything that you suggest if you think it will help fix my issue, if not then what other product would you offer in it's place as a paying customer who has 11 months remaining on their paid subscription?

How to tell me you haven't read the thread without telling me you haven't read the thread.

Only thing I am curious is WHY? Why waste time writing such a long post without first reading what the thread says?

As for not being impressed, please direct that feeling where it rightly belongs: at Microsoft, not me - it's their OS, it's because of changes they made in this month's Windows update, and I have no control over what they are going to break next.

All I can do is try to work around any new issues as soon as I am made aware of it, and that is exactly what I have just done. Perhaps you should be impressed with that instead.

Wasn't thinking about releasing a new beta since the balloon tooltip info is a minor issue compared to the icon not updating, I have already fixed it here anyway, and I am terribly busy trying to get v26.6 out the door in time, but here you go (forgot to update the beta #, sorry):

Winstep Xtreme beta:
https://www.winstep.net/xtreme-beta.zip

Nexus Ultimate beta:
https://www.winstep.net/ultimate-beta.zip

This is a beta and MUST be installed ON TOP of a full v26.4 OR LATER installation. Do NOT uninstall anything first, just exit all running Winstep applications and run the beta setup file.

There is no need to backup your settings first, but it does not hurt if you do either.

###

Please confirm whenever you guys can that the tooltip is now also updating correctly.

Installed the latest beta on Windows 10. As far as I can tell everything is working great. Icons and tooltip update immediately. If I get some time (doing some house repairs this week), I will install it on Windows 11, but I don't expect the result to be different.

I'm very impressed with your effort to solve this fairly minor issue. You even worked on it on the weekend.

You have added many new features to Winstep Xtreme in the last year, and you have spent a lot of time repairing things that Microsoft has broken. It's nice to see your excitement for the future of the program.

I learned some time ago, with some gentle reminders from nexter, to search the forums first. I guess it's natural to blame the program that you are using, but thanks to your detailed explanations in the forums, I find myself looking at what Microsoft did recently first.

I hope Microsoft doesn't break Windows 11 too often in their efforts to fix it.

I forgot to add that when I installed the latest beta I got the following pop up.

I guess Microsoft didn't like you fixing a problem that they created.

The install continued without any further intervention on my part.

Everything works great on Windows 11 also.