How to return the previous icons on the desktop. Video: how to replace standard Windows shortcuts. Customizing system icons
Computer users store on the Windows desktop (desktop) those icons, folders and shortcuts that are used every day and should always be at hand. The disappearance of all or only part of them may be a consequence of exposure to a virus or other malware. Another option is unskilled user actions. These two reasons are the main ones that explain why all the shortcuts disappeared on the desktop. Fortunately, the task of how to restore desktop shortcuts is within the capabilities of a user with basic computer knowledge.
The lack of shortcuts causes inconvenience to the user. You can restore missing shortcuts yourself.
Customizing system icons
After Windows installations 7 on the PC desktop there is already a “Trash” system icon. During initial setup, as a rule, several others are added to it. This is almost always the Computer icon (in previous versions- “My Computer”), a folder with user files, sometimes the “Network” and “Control Panel” icons. How to restore the shortcut to my computer and others? If shortcuts and folders have disappeared from the desktop, then it’s easy to get them back by implementing the following sequence actions.
Why are shortcuts not displayed on the desktop even after these actions? The fact is that displaying Windows desktop icons is included in the functions special file explorer.exe, which is launched when the computer is turned on along with the system. If the computer is seriously infected, the launch of this file is blocked. In this case, checkmarks may be present next to the components, but the icons will not be displayed. How to return all shortcuts to the desktop? To solve the problem you will need to restore normal start explorer.exe file.
Rollback to previous state
By default, Windows provides the ability to return (rollback) to the previous state. During operation, the current state is periodically remembered unnoticed by the user. Such “snapshots” of the system are called its restore points. If necessary, the entire PC can be returned to the stored state. If shortcuts have disappeared from your desktop, the easiest way to get them back is to roll back to the date when they were displayed normally. To do this, you will need to follow several steps.
IMPORTANT. After this, you need to try not to repeat the actions, otherwise the icons may disappear again or disappear periodically. In particular, you should not ignore browser warnings about the potential dangers of visiting certain sites. You may need to install more advanced antivirus protection.
Unfortunately, on some computers it is very convenient function rollback is disabled to save money disk space. Sometimes this disservice is provided to clients even during pre-sale preparation PC.
Editing the Windows Registry
On a PC with the rollback function disabled, in order to run the special explorer.exe file normally, you will have to edit the Windows registry. He is huge database data with hierarchically grouped parameters and operating system settings.
IMPORTANT. Editing should be done very carefully. If done incorrectly, an inexperienced user can seriously damage the system.
IN Windows registry You will need to edit the largest of its five sections - HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. To do this, you need to perform a number of actions.
Above we discussed the restoration of shortcuts on the desktop Windows desktop 7. If shortcuts have disappeared from the desktop of other than Windows 7 modern versions- 8 and 10, then you should take similar actions. There are minor differences in the names of the icons. For example, if shortcuts from the Windows 10 desktop have disappeared, then after restoration the user will see not “My Computer”, but “This Computer”.
The Windows desktop is the first element GUI, which we see after starting the computer. On it we place the icons and shortcuts we need, which help us quickly and easily launch the programs necessary for our work.
A fairly common problem is that shortcuts from the desktop suddenly disappear. The situation is not pleasant. But it won’t be difficult to correct the situation.
note: If you have problems with your computer, the first thing to do is check it for viruses! Do all other actions only after the check is completed!
This is very important point. There is no point in guessing and trying to fix problems if there are infected files on your computer. Otherwise, all the work to eliminate problems will be done in vain.
We solve problems
It is immediately worth noting that there may be several reasons. Starting from the most harmless ones, which we will fix in a couple of seconds, to the more serious ones. But we are able to overcome them too. Let's talk about everything in more detail.
Desktop Settings
As you understand, the parameters are presented a large number of. Among this list there are those that are responsible for shortcuts - appearance, size, location.
Let's imagine, as an example, a situation where shortcuts on the Windows 7 desktop disappeared. What should we do?
Call the context menu - to do this, right-click on any free space desktop. The same result is achieved by pressing the "menu" button on the keyboard.
We move the cursor over the “view” line and go to the drop-down menu. Here we need to make sure that the checkbox next to the item " display desktop icons". Now click on the item " arrange icons automatically" and check the result.
At first glance, the method may seem too simple, but for inexperienced users this might come in handy.
Explorer.exe
Problems with Windows Explorer may cause shortcuts to disappear from the desktop. As we have already noted, when problems arise, the first thing we do is scan the computer for viruses.
In the menu we should press the "file" button, then " new task(execute...)". A program launch window will open. Here we should type explorer.exe from the keyboard and press ok.
It happens that the explorer does not start automatically, for one reason or another. We thus launch it manually. If this does not help to return files to the Windows 7 desktop, move on to the next step.
System Restore
The Windows operating system is thought out to the smallest detail. And of course it has built-in diagnostic and troubleshooting functionality.
Please note that in order to use this method, you must have previously saved recovery points. These are the so-called system snapshots, with all necessary settings. You can check this as follows. Find the “my computer” icon on the desktop, call up the context menu for it and click “properties”.
In the window that opens, on the left navigation menu click " Extra options systems", and go to the "system protection" tab. In the picture above you see that for drive C, system recovery is enabled. This means that restore points are created automatically.
So, if this feature works for you, read on. If not, go to the next step.
The easiest way to run System Restore looks like this:
Press Win+R and type rstrui.exe in the “Run” window. Then press Enter.
So, if shortcuts have disappeared from your desktop, you need to return the system to the previously saved working state. The process is extremely simple - after launching the utility, you will need to select the desired restore point and start the process. The computer will restart and the system will return to the selected state. All you have to do is check the result.
Working with the registry
What else can be done to return our shortcuts to the desktop? Let's check that the system registry settings are correct.
Press Win+R and enter regedit.exe.
Sequentially reveals these folders in navigation:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon/
Here we find the shell parameter, click on it, and check the value. Correct option- explorer.exe. If it is stated incorrectly, change it. The figure below shows the correct option:
After that, we tear off this branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Image File Execution Options/
Here we check if there are such sections:
- explorer.exe
- iexplorer.exe
If present, they should be removed. After this, restart the computer and check the result.
We use the AVZ utility
Powerful software tool AVZ allows you to scan your computer for viruses and carry out diagnostic measures.
We install and launch it. We will see the start window:
There is a lot in the program useful functions, including restoring explorer parameters. This can help bring back shortcuts that have disappeared from your desktop.
Click the "file then" menu System Restore". in the menu that appears, mark items 5, 8, 9, 16. And click " perform selected operations".
We wait for the process to complete, reboot the PC as always, and check the result.
One way or another, one of the methods should return the missing shortcuts to you.
Video for the article:
Conclusion
If problems arise, do not panic. You must determine if changes have been made to system settings. If so, correct them.
In the case where you have not changed the parameters, use our recommendations and carry out Windows diagnostics. With our instructions, returning shortcuts to your desktop will not be difficult.
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The disappearance of shortcuts on the Windows 7 desktop is one of the signs that the computer has been infected with malware, in which the system file responsible for the functioning of the computer has been damaged. graphical shell OS, or its incorrect launch. To correct this situation, you must either restore the damaged data or correctly specify the path to it in the registry.
Ways to restore desktop icons
In Windows 7, the program explorer.exe, located on drive C in Windows folder. When changing its parameters executable file will be read incorrectly, which can lead to the loss of not only all icons on the desktop, but also the taskbar.
You can restore all shortcuts using both standard applications built into the OS and additional software. The choice of one method or another depends on the criticality of the damage and the availability on the computer of the data required for resuscitation.
Activating the icon display feature
If all the icons on the Windows 7 desktop are gone, but the taskbar works in normal mode, then this may indicate that the shortcut display function is disabled. If this is indeed the case, then in the “Desktop” or Desktop folder, which is located on system disk, all icons must be present.
To restart this function you must:
If there are no icons in the Desktop catalog, it means that they were removed from the system due to the operation of malware or rash user actions. In this case the above method recovery will not work.
Manually launching explorer.exe
If icons disappear from the desktop Windows desktop 7 is not associated with damage to the explorer.exe application, you can launch it manually from the Start menu or Task Manager. In the first case, you need to go to “Start” and in the “Run” tab type explorer.exe.
If the taskbar has disappeared along with all the icons, then to launch the above file you need:
If, when you try to enter the “Task Manager”, the system blocks your actions, which can be observed when the computer is infected with a virus, then you will not be able to restore icons using this method.
Using the Registry
The file responsible for displaying shortcuts and visualizing the desktop is activated through a specific registry branch. When your computer is infected, it may happen that instead of launching explorer.exe, it opens virus program. To fix this problem and, accordingly, restore the missing icons, you need to do the following:
After exiting the registry and restarting the PC, all desktop icons should be restored.
Applications of additional software
If shortcuts have disappeared on your PC, and for some reason you can’t enter the registry or run the explorer.exe command, you can try to restore your desktop using special software.
Such a program is the universal antivirus program AVZ. His positive quality is that it can not only detect and clean the system of viruses, but also restore system files Windows, unlock access to the Task Manager, revive desktop icons and much more.
The procedure for working with this utility will be as follows:
After completing these steps, all icons on the desktop should be restored.
In the operating room Windows system The appearance of various elements can be customized to your liking. If you changed icons for files and folders, and now you decide to return them standard view, you need to perform several steps.
