Disappearing Desktop icons - Why?

[Ann B.]

Hi;
Lately when I cold boot my PC some of the icons on my desktop don't
appear, even though they're still in the Desktop folder. The missing
ones are the programs I use on the internet; like IE, Eudora, Free
Agent, etc. Also the remaining icons are moved to different places on
the screen than they are supposed to be in. When I shut down and
then cold boot again everything goes back to normal.

I'm running Windows XP on a Dell desktop that's 1&1/2 years old. My
virus check doesn't turn up anything negative. I've also run the
virus check from the Symantec site just to be sure. I've got a
firewall too.

What causes this new development, and will it ultimately cause me to
lose programs or data? What can I do so it stops happening?

Thanks so much for any help!!


Cheers,
Ann

To email: replace 'REMOVE' with 'b' in email address.

[S.Sengupta]

Hi,
desktop icons are shortcuts to programs, folders or files, which are
kept in:-
C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\Desktop
or . . . .\AllUsers\Desktop
folders. So you can check on those - but if they have not reappeared it
is probable the shortcuts got deleted.Create fresh shortcuts and retry.
you may also try:-
Hide All or Show All Desktop Icons (Line 172)
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
regards,
ssg MS-MVP
pronetworks.org


Ann B. wrote:

> Hi;
> Lately when I cold boot my PC some of the icons on my desktop don't
> appear, even though they're still in the Desktop folder. The missing
> ones are the programs I use on the internet; like IE, Eudora, Free
> Agent, etc. Also the remaining icons are moved to different places on
> the screen than they are supposed to be in. When I shut down and
> then cold boot again everything goes back to normal.
>
> I'm running Windows XP on a Dell desktop that's 1&1/2 years old. My
> virus check doesn't turn up anything negative. I've also run the
> virus check from the Symantec site just to be sure. I've got a
> firewall too.
>
> What causes this new development, and will it ultimately cause me to
> lose programs or data? What can I do so it stops happening?
>
> Thanks so much for any help!!
>
>
> Cheers,
> Ann
>
> To email: replace 'REMOVE' with 'b' in email address.

[Ann B.]

Thanks for your post. My icons, however, DO reappear. And when they
disappear, they're still showing in the Desktop folder. This is
what's so puzzling.

On Sun, 15 Feb 2004 19:42:42 +0530, "S.Sengupta" >
wrote:

>Hi,
>desktop icons are shortcuts to programs, folders or files, which are
>kept in:-
>C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\Desktop
>or . . . .\AllUsers\Desktop
>folders. So you can check on those - but if they have not reappeared it
>is probable the shortcuts got deleted.Create fresh shortcuts and retry.
>you may also try:-
>Hide All or Show All Desktop Icons (Line 172)
>http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
>regards,
>ssg MS-MVP
>pronetworks.org
>
>
>Ann B. wrote:
>
>> Hi;
>> Lately when I cold boot my PC some of the icons on my desktop don't
>> appear, even though they're still in the Desktop folder. The missing
>> ones are the programs I use on the internet; like IE, Eudora, Free
>> Agent, etc. Also the remaining icons are moved to different places on
>> the screen than they are supposed to be in. When I shut down and
>> then cold boot again everything goes back to normal.
>>
>> I'm running Windows XP on a Dell desktop that's 1&1/2 years old. My
>> virus check doesn't turn up anything negative. I've also run the
>> virus check from the Symantec site just to be sure. I've got a
>> firewall too.
>>
>> What causes this new development, and will it ultimately cause me to
>> lose programs or data? What can I do so it stops happening?
>>
>> Thanks so much for any help!!
>>
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ann
>>
>> To email: replace 'REMOVE' with 'b' in email address.

Cheers,
Ann

To email: replace 'REMOVE' with 'b' in email address.

[t.cruise]

Maybe a problem with the icon cache? Download TweakUI for Windows XP, one
of the Microsoft Powertoys for Windows XP at:

http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

Download and install TweakUI, one of the Microsoft Powertoys for Windows XP.
Once installed, click the Start button/All Programs/Powertoys for Windows
XP/TweakUI.

When TweakUI opens, in the left pane click: Repair. In the right pane from
the drop down menu select: Rebuild Icons
Then click the Repair Now button.
--

T.C.

Remove [NoSpam] to reply



"Ann B." > wrote in message
...
> Hi;
> Lately when I cold boot my PC some of the icons on my desktop don't
> appear, even though they're still in the Desktop folder. The missing
> ones are the programs I use on the internet; like IE, Eudora, Free
> Agent, etc. Also the remaining icons are moved to different places on
> the screen than they are supposed to be in. When I shut down and
> then cold boot again everything goes back to normal.
>
> I'm running Windows XP on a Dell desktop that's 1&1/2 years old. My
> virus check doesn't turn up anything negative. I've also run the
> virus check from the Symantec site just to be sure. I've got a
> firewall too.
>
> What causes this new development, and will it ultimately cause me to
> lose programs or data? What can I do so it stops happening?
>
> Thanks so much for any help!!
>
>
> Cheers,
> Ann
>
> To email: replace 'REMOVE' with 'b' in email address.