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Icons for deleted folders disappeared from the desktop. Incorrect display of icons: solution

After starting the system, icons disappeared from the Windows 7, 8 desktop, a fairly common situation. Depending on the situation, the shortcuts disappear partially or completely. The ways to solve problems are multifaceted. You may observe the following situations:

  1. Some shortcuts have disappeared from the desktop, but the rest are still there.
  2. All icons are gone, but you can see the taskbar.
  3. Icons and other elements are not displayed (only or a black screen is visible).

In the first case, mainly system icons disappear, such as the recycle bin, my computer and others; read more about restoring system shortcuts for the “recycle bin” and “my computer”. All other cases of icons disappearing can be attributed to the shortcut display settings and problems with launching the graphical interface file.

Enable display of desktop shortcuts

If all the shortcuts on the desktop have disappeared, but the icon is displayed and functioning, check for the presence of icons in the user's Desktop folder. Launch “my computer” from the start or taskbar. On the left, select “desktop”, if all the icons are there, then the problem is over.

Right-click (where there are no icons) on the desktop, in the menu, hover over “view”, select the option to show desktop icons so that they appear again. The folks at Microsoft came up with this clever idea to clean up your desktop.

If there are no shortcuts in the Desktop directory and the display option is enabled, then the icons have been moved or deleted due to user actions or a virus attack. The first option is unlikely, although the second is more common. Do a system restore, scan your PC for viruses so that this situation does not happen in the future.

Troubleshooting Explorer.exe file issues

The file explorer.exe, which is located in the Windows folder, is responsible for displaying the desktop, taskbar, and start. If, after starting your PC, your Windows 7, 8 desktop has disappeared, it means that the graphical interface file did not start with the system. Most likely the effect of a virus is observed. To resolve problems, follow one or a set of steps below.

1. You can manually make the explorer.exe process work. , click “file” in the top menu, then “new task (execute)”. In the input field, enter explorer.exe, click OK. This way you can restore your Windows 7, 8 desktop within this session to easily troubleshoot problems. After manually launching the graphical interface, scan the OS with an antivirus program with the latest database update.

Note: It is not uncommon for malware to block the task manager. The result will be a notification " ".

2. Without starting explorer manually, you can. If the desktop loads completely, it means something is preventing it from functioning normally. Scan Windows with antivirus software.

3. The graphical interface file is launched automatically through the corresponding registry branch. When the system is infected with a virus of a certain type, then the path to the executable file of the virus software (often located in) is written in the registry in place of the explorer.exe value. If Windows 7, 8 shortcuts have disappeared on your desktop, follow the steps below.

You will need , 8 and go to the Winlogon section (see the image below for the full path). On the right side of the registry, pay attention to the Shell parameter, the value explorer.exe should be set there. If the path to the executable file of the virus is written there, double-click Shell, in the “value” field, delete the unnecessary ones and write explorer.exe. Next, click OK, but take your time to close the registry.

The virus can take root deep into the registry. Select the name of the malware executable file and copy it. Press Ctrl + F and paste the copied name into the “find” field. Check all the options (see screenshot), then click “find next”. If the name of the virus is found, correct it everywhere. Close the registry windows and restart your computer.

4. Sometimes explorer.exe is modified or damaged, to restore the desktop on Windows 7, 8 and the GUI command (cmd) check system files will help. You need to enter the command:

5. Perform a system restore. The most popular problem solving tool in Windows, but not always. In difficult situations it may be turned off and not help you in any way.

Now you know why icons disappeared from the Windows 7, 8 desktop and how to restore them. First of all, it is recommended to check the setting for hiding shortcuts. Otherwise, use the methods to solve the problem with loading the graphical interface; as a rule, the methods work in a complex manner.

Every PC user, whether new or experienced, has at least once in his life become a victim of shortcut theft: you turn on the computer and find that the shortcuts, all or part of them (for example, only My Computer or Recycle Bin), have disappeared from the desktop . There is no need to panic in such a situation. This problem can be solved quite easily. For some, simply restarting the computer will help, and for others, more “strict” measures need to be taken, including reinstalling the operating system. We hope it doesn't come to that. So, first, let's determine what exactly is missing.

Shortcuts have partially disappeared from the desktop in Windows XP

If the My Computer or Recycle Bin icon has disappeared, then I will give you this advice: right-click on an empty space on the desktop and a context menu will appear. For Windows XP, select “Properties” from the list, then go to the “Desktop” tab, and then click on the “Desktop Customization” button. Check the boxes next to which the label you need is indicated.

Shortcuts have partially disappeared from the desktop in Windows Vista/7

Click on an empty space on the desktop to open the context menu, select the “Personalization” line from the list, then click “Change desktop icons” in the left column and mark the shortcuts necessary to display on the desktop of your computer.

All shortcuts are gone and only Task Manager works

If all the shortcuts from your desktop have disappeared, then first check the “machine” for viruses; perhaps this disappearance is the result of exposure to a malicious object. If you have free time and desire, you can check your PC for viruses using several antivirus programs, because nothing is perfect, it happens that Nod32 “passes” some viruses, but Kaspersky does not, and vice versa. One thing is that antivirus programs must be installed one at a time, after removing the previous one. For your PC to function correctly, two antivirus programs should NOT be installed on it at the same time. If treatment does not help, follow the tips below.
This article provides ways to solve this problem according to the hierarchy, from banal to more radical.

So first check if there is a checkmark next to the item that is responsible for displaying shortcuts on the desktop of your computer. To do this, you need to call the context menu, i.e. Right-click on an empty space on the desktop. Next, select “Arrange icons” (for Windows XP/7) or “View” (for Windows Vista) from the list that appears, and then click on the line “Display desktop icons” if there is no checkmark next to it. If the checkbox in the place described above is ticked or the context menu cannot be called, then do the following.

Launch the Task Manager, to do this, simultaneously hold down the Ctrl and Alt and Delete buttons on the keyboard. If you have an operating system such as Windows Vista or Windows 7 on your computer, then when you combine the buttons Ctrl+Alt+Del, a blue-green background usually appears with a list from which you need to select the “Task Manager” line.

After the Task Manager has opened, you need to click on the “New task...” button in the “Applications” tab. In the window that appears, enter the regedit command and click OK. The Registry Editor window appears.

I want to warn you right away that if you click in the wrong place or on the wrong thing, you can “screw up” the system and then you will definitely have to reinstall it. Therefore, carry out all the operations I described slowly. To help you, there are pictures that show everything in some detail. So, sigh... let's go :)

In the left field of the Registry Editor window, open one by one, by clicking on the triangular markers, the following folders: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion. Next, select the Winlogon folder and now click on it. A list will appear in the right field. Look at the value assigned to the parameter called Shell. Explorer.exe should be specified in the value opposite Shell.

If this is not the case, then assign Shell the desired value by double-clicking the left mouse button on the Shell parameter. Next, in the “Value” column, write explorer.exe and click on the “OK” button. Reboot the computer.

If from the very beginning the value of the Shell parameter was explorer.exe or these steps did not help solve the existing problem, you need to find the Image File Execution Options folder in the left field of the registry editor. It is located here: KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options. Click on it. If there is a subkey explorer.exe in the right field of the Registry Editor, delete it. How to delete? Right-click on this subsection and then “Delete.” Happened? Are all the labels in place? Then you did everything right.

Returning shortcuts using AVZ

You can also try to return the shortcuts to their place using the program AVZ. Download the program, be sure to update its database. Next, simultaneously hold down the CRTL+ALT+DEL buttons. In the Task Manager that appears, click the “New task...” button, enter avz.exe in the window that opens. In the program menu, click File/System Restore. Mark the items “9” - Removing system process debuggers and “16” - Restoring the Explorer launch key, then click on the “Perform marked operations” button.

Restart your computer.

You may find this information useful:

When you started the portable device, you saw the service desk completely clean, without a single element, no need to be upset and quickly start reinstalling the OS.

Probably, your friends simply decided to prank you - then it will not be difficult to return the icons. But it is possible that a virus was at work here - then you will need to spend some time, although correcting the situation is equally not difficult.

If this is a joke, then you will need the method below.

Method 1: Show present icons on the display.

You need to right-click on an unoccupied space on the desktop. A list will open in which you should select “arrange icons”, and then click on “Display desktop icons”.

Icons may not be restored instantly, but after a few seconds, depending on the computing power of the PC. If nothing has changed, you should move on to the following methods. But before that, do not forget to check your hardware for malware, because as soon as you fix the errors and restart the system, everything may return to its previous form (without icons).

Method 2: Enabling the explorer.exe option through the task manager.

The function of this process is to demonstrate all the components of the display. The launch algorithm looks like this:

If the PC indicates that this element is not detected, or due to a restart the complication is not resolved, then you should restore the OS, and for this you need to use the following method.

Method 3. Rollback the operating system.

The item does not have any difficulties in implementation:

  • Use “Alt” + “Ctrl” + “Delete” again.
  • Go to a separate window, select the “Applications” - “New task” section.
  • In the window that appears, click “Create a new task”, then specify the path in the text line %SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe. Click "OK". The “System Restore” window will appear on the screen.

If there are no points available, then you most likely have the option to generate save points turned off. Then you should try the following method.

Method 4. Correcting registry data.

If neither rolling back nor restarting the PC solved the dilemma, you will need to edit the system data:


If you can use the Internet, you can return the icons using the method below.

Method 5. Using a reg template.

For this option you need to complete the following steps:

One of the suggested methods should help you solve the problem with missing icons on your desktop.

Some users are accustomed to keeping their desktop (just like the partitions on their hard drive) “clean,” structuring its contents, or even completely, indulging in the trend of minimalism, leaving up to 5-10 shortcuts in sight. Such organization in work is sometimes overshadowed by failures, after which it is discovered that all the shortcuts from the desktop have disappeared.

This can happen due to incorrect settings or system problems. In any case, there is no reason to panic in this. We will explain why the shortcuts disappeared and consider in detail the most effective options for getting out of the situation.

Displaying icons

  1. While on the desktop, you need to right-click on an empty area, causing the context menu to appear. In the list, select the “View” section, and then click on the option "Show desktop icons".
  1. After completing the actions, a “bird” should be displayed next to this option, and the shortcuts themselves should appear in their previous location.

Accidental deletion

The reasons why shortcuts on the desktop disappeared may be associated not with critical failures and disruptions in the operation of individual elements of the system, but with the banal carelessness of a person who mistakenly deleted the shortcut(s). You can check the latter quite easily, simply.

To do this, right-click on the workspace of the table, selecting the “Create” option in the drop-down menu, and then clicking on “Shortcut”.

The “New Shortcut” element should appear at the cursor location. In addition, a wizard for creating new shortcuts will open. It is necessary to indicate the location of the file to which we want to configure quick access.

But you don’t need to choose anything, we check! Just move the mouse around this window. If a shortcut appears on your desktop, but there are no usual shortcuts, then you have enabled the display of icons, which was discussed in the first paragraph, but you still deleted your icons. This could have been done through negligence, or someone was just playing a joke on you.

After you figure everything out, the window for creating a shortcut can be closed using the “Cancel” button. And immediately start creating new icons.

Showing hidden elements

It is also possible that all your shortcuts did not disappear, but only received hidden status. You can change everything back in the Explorer service.

  1. Let's start the service. To do this, just press the key combination Win + E on your keyboard.
  2. Go to the “Desktop” directory.
  3. Click on the option “View”.
  4. Selecting a section "Show or hide".
  5. Put a tick on the parameter "Hidden Elements".

Launching Explorer

Few people know, but the system file explorer.exe is responsible for the appearance of all elements (shortcuts, taskbar, Start menu) on the desktop during OS loading. If its operation fails and it no longer appears in the list of active tasks, then everything from the desktop will disappear. You can fix this as follows:

  1. First, let's call "Task Manager"(by pressing the key combination Alt + Ctrl + Del, or through the Taskbar).
  1. In the menu, select the “File” section, and in it click on the option "Run new task".
  1. In the task creation window, in the empty column, enter the name of the file explorer.exe.

By completing the above steps, you will initiate the correct appearance of elements on the desktop.

Replacing a damaged explorer.exe file

If during the diagnostics you find a malfunction of the executable application explorer.exe, we recommend replacing it with a working copy. You can download a working file on the Internet (either separately or as part of an installation theme for Windows 7, 8, 10), or you can move a copy of explorer.exe from a working system (the file location is indicated below).

  1. If there is a new file, we will replace it. The damaged file is located in the C:/Windows/ folder. Having previously copied the new version (using the Ctrl + C command), paste it into the specified folder (Ctrl + V), replacing the value.
  1. Now we need to restart the file. This can be done in the task manager (ALT + CTRL + DEL). Go to the “Details” tab and find “explorer.exe” in the list provided. Select it, and then select the “End task” option (the success of the process should be confirmed by the missing elements on the desktop).
  1. Now let's run the replaced executable file (see points 2 and 3 of section "Starting Explorer").

System Restore

If you don’t know why the icons disappeared, and the methods described above did not produce results, viruses are most likely to blame and you need to restore the system.

Using the AVZ utility

For our task, the ideal assistant would be an antivirus utility that eliminates the consequences of spyware and AdWare software.

  1. You can download the program on our website (via the link above), or on the developer’s website. Let's launch AVZ.
  2. In the menu, select the “File” section, and in it we find the parameter "System Restore".
  1. In the settings window, select parameters 1; 5; 8-11; 16; 17. And then click “Perform marked operations”.
  1. The program will start working, upon completion (after restarting the system) you will find the required shortcuts in their places.

Return to checkpoint

If, in addition to missing shortcuts, your system experiences serious failures, we advise you to “roll back” your OS to the last stable save point. This will allow you to “go back in time” to the moment the unpleasant situation occurred, and prevent exposure to the malware that caused the problem. On our website you can find detailed materials describing how to carry out a similar procedure:

Changing registry settings

The last troubleshooting option discussed today involves editing parameters in the Windows registry. This process should be resorted to last, since the slightest mistakes made when changing the registry can affect the operation of the entire system so much that you will have to install a “clean” Windows.

  1. First, we need to call the standard Run service. This can be done by simultaneously pressing the Win + R keys.
  2. In the input column, insert the command regedit. Press the "OK" key.
  1. In the registry editor that opens, follow the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE – SOFTWARE – Microsoft – Windows NT – CurrentVersion – Winlogon.
  2. In the “Winlogon” directory we are interested in two keys:
  • Shell should be explorer.exe
  • Userinit must contain the path to the userinit.exe file looking like this − C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe.

If the values ​​in the above items are distinguishable, correct them.

  1. Let's go along the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options.
  2. On the left side of the window (navigation section) we look for subsections explorer.exe / iexplorer.exe. If there are any, delete them by applying RMB to the subsection and selecting the “Delete” option.
  1. Restart your computer to save the changes.

Regardless of which method of solving the problem helped you, you need to make sure that you have eliminated the root cause of the problem. It is recommended to scan your PC for malware, since otherwise, after restarting the system, it is quite possible that you will again encounter a situation where icons have disappeared from the desktop again.

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Webmaster. Higher education with a degree in Information Security. Author of most articles and computer literacy lessons

Let's imagine this situation: you decide to turn on your computer (PC, laptop) and when loading the operating system, you unexpectedly see a completely empty desktop, that is, without any shortcuts. Having carefully rubbed your eyes, you realize that it was not your imagination and that everything is really happening. Oddly enough, desktop icons can actually disappear, and this happens for several different reasons. Today I would like to talk about this in more detail.

Let me say right away that I will look at several of the most common problems, some of which you can resolve in just a couple of seconds, while others may take time to resolve. So, let's go.

Reason one

In this case, deleting shortcuts could have happened for one reason - someone simply deleted all the shortcuts from your desktop. Speaking about this case, I can say that it’s easy to check: just move the mouse cursor over any place, click on the right mouse button and try to create any element, which could be a shortcut, a folder or, say, a text document. If the element was created, then everything is in order, now you just have to restore the necessary shortcuts.

It is much worse if the element was created, but did not appear on the screen. This suggests that the problem is somewhat more complex. But more about it below. In the meantime, we continue to deal with more prosaic reasons.

The second reason

It is possible that someone decided to make fun of you or just did it completely by accident. The point is this: in the Windows operating system there is a possibility in which the user decides whether to display desktop icons or not.

Windows XP

  • Move the mouse cursor to any place and click on the right button.
  • Hover over Arrange Icons.
  • Here you will see the option “Show desktop icons”. There should be a check mark next to it. If it is missing, be sure to add it. The icons will appear.

Wibdows 7

  • In this case, again click on the right mouse button on the desktop.
  • Select the “View” item.
  • Check the box next to “Display desktop icons” if it is not there.

For more details, look at the screenshot:

Third reason

But now we have smoothly moved to a situation in which we will have to work a little. But don’t worry, there’s nothing complicated here, everything is clear and simple.

If the desktop is completely missing not only shortcuts, but also any other elements, including the panel with the Start button, then this is definitely the work of a virus or Trojan. It will be necessary to check your PC for malicious files, but you will do this later, but for now you need to run a process called explorer.exe, which is responsible for many processes in Windows. You can start the process using the keyboard shortcut:

  • Or Ctrl+Alt+Del
  • Or Ctrl+Shift+Esc

The first method is only suitable for Windows XP, but for the “seven” both options are possible.

After the task manager is launched, you need to select the “File” - “New task” subsection and enter the word explorer.exe in the window. Now the process should start, and along with it all the shortcuts on the desktop will appear. After this, you immediately update your antivirus database and scan your computer for malicious files.

It is possible that the problem is not a virus at all, but some kind of glitch in the operating system itself. In this case, the explorer.exe process does not start. In this case, I can recommend one thing - to roll back the system to an earlier date when your computer was working.

What to do if rolling back the system to an earlier date does not help? Editing the system registry will help you, just first (just in case). Since the "Start" button does not work, open the task manager again, click on "File" - "Run", write regedit and press the Enter key. This will open the registry. We go to the following address: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon and make sure that the value explorer.exe is written in the Shell column, and C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe in the Userinit column. If there are none, then we change them to the specified ones (in the second case, we write the letter of the local drive where Windows is located - this can be an excellent C drive hard drive).

It is also recommended to go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options and delete the iexplorer.exe or explorer.exe values, if any. After this and the procedure described above, be sure to restart the computer.

You can ask your questions using comments.