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:
- Some shortcuts have disappeared from the desktop, but the rest are still there.
- All icons are gone, but you can see the taskbar.
- 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 file GUI.
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.
Click 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 Windows folder. 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 GUI, scan the OS with an antivirus program with latest update bases
Note: not uncommon malware blocks 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 antivirus BY.
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 the desktop is missing Windows shortcuts 7, 8 follow the steps below.
You will need , 8 and go to the Winlogon section ( full path see image below). 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 virus executable file is listed 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 comprehensive manner.
If you, once turning on your desktop computer or laptop (which runs the operating system Windows systems 7, 10, or XP) saw that all your desktop icons have disappeared and you don’t know how to get them back, then this article will help you solve this problem.
There are at least several serious and not so serious reasons for this, and now we will look at them one by one:
Function to enable desktop display.
If your desktop shortcuts are missing and not displayed, but the taskbar is fully functional,
check their availability in system folder, which is called your account name. To do this, call “My Computer” by pressing the keyboard shortcuts “Win + E”. Next, go to drive “C” / users / folder with your name account/ Desktop. And if there are at least some shortcuts there, then you have disabled the display of desktop shortcuts.
Now, in order to restore and pin icons to the desktop, you need to right-click your mouse on an empty space on the desktop, then move the mouse cursor over the “View” section, now you need to check the box next to “Display desktop icons”.
After the manipulations you have done, all your shortcuts should return.
Important: If you do not find any shortcuts in the system folder, then this method cannot return them.
Running the "explorer.exe" subroutine
Explorer.exe – executor system file, which is responsible for launching and displaying the desktop, start menu and taskbar. But it happens that due to virus programs or simply system failures, explorer.exe is disabled. This means you will have to manually make it work. There are two ways to do this:
Via Task Manager
To enable it, you will have to launch the task manager using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+Esc”. After that, first click on “File”, then from the pop-up context menu “Run new task”.
Now you just have to enter “explorer.exe” in the task creation menu and click “OK”.
The startup process may take some time, on average 5-10 seconds.
Important: if after this, the taskbar appears, but it was not possible to return the icons, proceed to step “1” - the function of turning on the desktop display.
Using the registry
To enter the registry of your system, press the key combination “Win + R”, with this action you will call the “Run” task, in which enter the regedit command and click “OK”.
Important: if for some reason this cannot be done, then turn off your PC. Now turn it on and while the Bios is loading, press the F8 key, this will bring up additional boot options for your system, in which you must select the “Safe Mode” option.
Now that you have managed to launch the task registry, go to the folder “Computer / HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon”, now find the “Shell” parameter, open it double click your mouse and, if the value line is empty, enter “explorer.exe” there. Next, click "OK".
After closing the registry, all icons should return to their original place.
Recover accidentally deleted shortcuts using the Recycle Bin
If all the icons have disappeared from the desktop, for example, you accidentally deleted them, then they can be easily restored. The fact is that all the files you delete are stored in a temporary park called the “Trash”. (The “mathcad” program will be used as an example).
And so, we find the trash icon on the desktop and open it. Next, we find the previously deleted program shortcut in it and right-click on it, calling up an additional context menu in which you need to select the “Restore” option.
Important: this method will not work if the shortcut was deleted a long time ago or the trash was emptied.
Reinstall the shortcuts you need
This method is suitable if all previous ones have failed. You just need to place the shortcut on your desktop. To do this, find the program you need in the start menu. And just drag the shortcut to your desktop.
If the start menu is not there necessary program, then search for it manually. You can do this in two ways:
Open the start menu and find the search command, then enter the exact name of the desired program in the required line (the example is presented on OS Windows 10). When the search returns results, right-click on the icon and select “Open folder containing file.”
When File Explorer opens with the shortcut you want, right-click on it again, then select Send to / Desktop (create shortcut).
System Restore
This method is an extreme one, so if the icons disappeared and you tried to bring the shortcuts back to the desktop, but none of the methods described above helped, then you should run the system restore task. But don’t worry, this method is not as scary as the name might suggest. System Restore serves as a kind of rollback to your system. That is, by running this procedure, say, on the 19th day, all programs that you installed after this date will be deleted, and any changes related to the system will also be canceled.
Important: files, text documents or movies that are on your computer will remain unchanged. Only third-party programs will be removed.
And so, in order to start this procedure, open “My Computer” and right-click on an empty space. Then, from the provided context menu list, select the “Properties” option.
Now that a new window has opened, go to the System Protection section.
Now you are transferred to the “System Properties” menu, in which you need to remain on the “System Protection” tab and click on “Restore”.
The system recovery setup menu will then launch.
Important: you must select a restore point that was created before any problem appeared.
During recovery, your computer may restart several times - this is normal. The recovery itself takes up to 30 minutes maximum, it all depends on the hardware and how long ago the recovery point was.
Conclusion
Do not despair if you have lost icons from your desktop; after reading our article and the methods proposed in it, you will be able to cope with the problem that has arisen. Start from the first point to the last, because let me remind you that system recovery is a last resort method.
In contact with
Shortcuts– this is the thing that every user encounters when working on a computer, smartphone or tablet. They serve to ensure that the user has fast access To necessary programs, documents or folders. Most often, users launch various applications using shortcuts and don’t even realize it.
But recently, I had a problem. After starting the computer, I discovered that icons were not displayed on the desktop, on absolutely all shortcuts, instead an image appeared Windows windows. The first thought that came to my mind was that there was a virus on my computer due to which all the icons on the shortcuts disappeared.
Without thinking for a long time, I, with the help of . After waiting for about half an hour, a result appeared saying that the computer was clean and no virus programs were found on it. Of course, I knew that checking with an antivirus would not return the missing icons from the shortcuts, but I did this in order to prevent a similar situation from reoccurring in the future.
So, since the antivirus didn’t detect anything, I started working on icons. Personally, I have a lot of different shortcuts for launching programs on my desktop, as well as a considerable number of folders to which I needed express access. Therefore, the prospect of creating icons again using the “Send to Desktop” menu did not make me very happy. So, I started searching for an alternative solution to this problem.
And as it turns out, there is a solution to this problem, and a very simple one. It was thanks to him that, having written several commands, I returned the shortcut icons that were not displayed, all at once, spending a few minutes on it. And since this method helped me, I hasten to share it with you.
Bringing back missing shortcut icons
As I mentioned earlier, to return the missing icons we need to write several commands. I think you already guessed that this will need to be done in “ Command line" So, by opening " Start"We go into all programs in which we look for the standard folder. In it we find the item “ Command line ", on which by right-clicking, select " Run as administrator».
So, in the launched utility, let’s draw each command in the order in which I indicate below, and after typing the required line, click “ Enter»
- Let's put it away for a while running process Explorer (required for further steps) by typing the following line: taskkill /im explorer.exe /f;
- Next we write: cd %userprofile%\appdata\local;
- attrib -h IconCache.db;
- Delete the cache of icons and icons: del IconCache.db
- Now, let’s run the explorer back: explorer;
- We check and rejoice at the successful result;
After all these actions, the missing icons appeared back, and the shortcuts began to look the same as before. It may be that in some cases, after executing the commands, you will need to restart the computer, so if your icons have not been restored or the explorer has not started, then be sure to do this.
Oh yes, if you want to stay updated on various bug fixes, then join us on social media. networks or subscribe to updates, so you definitely won’t miss anything.
Shortcut icons disappeared on the desktop in Windows 7
How to recover missing shortcuts from desktop windows table The topic is not new, but under certain circumstances it is very unpleasant. Therefore, you always need to be prepared to quickly solve it.
Hi all! Did you have a case where Shortcuts disappeared from Windows 7 desktop? If not, then today on a blog for beginner computer and Internet users, I will show you how to get out of this situation.
Shortcuts disappeared from the Windows 7 desktop
Sometimes shortcuts disappear immediately upon startup operating system, and after downloading it we simply do not find them on the desktop. And there are times when a game or application is open on the computer, and the program fails, after which it (the operating system) automatically goes to empty no shortcuts desktop.
In such cases, I usually do the following:
- I press the key combination CTRL+ALT+DEL and close the execution of all programs open in Windows 7.
Usually, after such actions, the shortcuts return to their place and the computer continues to work normally. - I check my computer for viruses.
- I check the presence of checkmarks in the settings for displaying shortcuts on the desktop. I will show you how to do this below.
Icons have disappeared from the Windows desktop
To check my computer for viruses, I always keep two anti-virus “chips” on hand. This Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool from Kaspersky Lab,And Dr.Web Cureit from the office of the same name.
The utilities do not require installation on the computer, so with another antivirus programs don't "bite". And when using them, turning off the regular “guard”, and for me it is Avast-free, is not required.
Next we move on to checking the settings display shortcuts on desktop. To do this, right-click (right mouse button) on the “empty desktop” and move the mouse cursor over the button View and lower it down to the inscription Show desktop icons.
Where to the left of the inscription, click LMB (left mouse button) to check the box. And lo and behold, the desktop of our computer is again full of multi-colored shortcuts and icons.
If they do not appear, then press the key combination CTRL+ALT+DEL open the task manager and follow the path Applications—New task. In the dialog box that appears (as in the screenshot), enter "explorer.exe" and after pressing the OK button we wait icons appear on the desktop.
If after this nothing happened, then follow the path:
Start—Control Panel—Recovery—Run System Restore and after completing this procedure, all icons and shortcuts will definitely return to the desktop of your computer.
I think, dear visitors, now you will know what to do if, Shortcuts will disappear from the Windows 7 desktop. And on this positive note I want to end this interesting topic, bye everyone and don’t forget to subscribe to blog updates when you leave.
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