WHAT is the Deciding factor???

From my off and on again XP experiece, I have come
across some times where I would loose the icon in my
start menu titled "my network places" then it would come
back again.

Here is my question if anyone would be kind enough
to help me with it.

What is the deciding factor in that icon to show up
or not? Sometimes when I fiddle with the networking
settings I can loose that icon all together and I can't
seem to get it back. Other times it just pops up with
out me knowing what I did to bring it up.

This has been a mystery to me and I really wish to
understand why. I do have some networking experices
(almost my CCNA). So feel free to use terms that might be
in that field of knowledge.

My great thanks to you on this issue! =)

Sincerely,

Kevin in Alaska