SOS: Necessary shortcuts and notification area icons have disappeared from the desktop. Looking for loss

My desktop icons have disappeared for no reason. Known problem? So you've come to the right place. Usually this happens after installing some kind of left-handed program, driver, or after a sharp power surge in the electrical network. There may be other problems as well. It's not that important at the moment.

Now it is important for us to return our icons to the desktop. Since they were there, it means that it is more convenient for you to work. Although, there are users who like to have perfect cleanliness on the desktop. We are all different, so everyone has the right to customize the desktop as he pleases.

And for those who find it more convenient to work with icons on the desktop, but for some reason cannot find them, I will tell and show how to return the missing to its place.

First, watch a video on this topic, but then read the article better, because. sometimes I forget to show something in the video, and then I remember and finish writing. The video shows how to display the necessary icons in the Windows 10 operating system, but below I will show another option that is suitable for all Windows systems.

Now, for those who for some reason could not watch the video, I show how to do it in pictures.

First, right-click on the desktop, and in the drop-down list, position the mouse cursor on the first entry - View. Another menu will open, in which at the very bottom there is a setting - Show desktop icons.

Opposite this entry there should be a checkmark, if it is not there, then click on this entry with the left mouse button, and it will be installed, and the icons that you had before will appear on the desktop.

How to get desktop icons backWindows 10

On the Windows 10 operating system, this trick may not be enough. Then do the following.

• At the very bottom of the desktop window, on the right, on the taskbar, find the icon Notification Center. Click on it with the left mouse button.

• In the window that opens, in the very bottom right, find the button All Options and click on it.

• In the settings window that opens, click on the very first entry System.

• In the next window, find Tablet mode, and click on it.

• Turn off and then on the switches: Hide app icons on taskbar in tablet mode And Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode.

Sometimes it works and helps.

If you have no notification center icon on the taskbar, then it must be enabled:

• Right click on Taskbars(for those who do not know where it is: at the very bottom of your window);
• Go to the bottom of the dropdown list and left click on the item Parameters.
• You should have an options window open. Taskbars.

Sometimes labels disappear immediately upon startup of the operating system, and after loading 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 crashes, after which it (the operating system) automatically switches to an empty desktop without shortcuts.

In such cases, I usually do the following:

1. I press the key combination CTRL+ALT+DEL and close the execution of all open programs in windows 7.
   Usually, after such actions, the shortcuts return to their place and the computer continues to work normally.
2. I check my computer for viruses.
3. I check the checkboxes in the settings for displaying shortcuts on the desktop. I will show you how to do this below.

Windows desktop icons missing

To check my computer for viruses, I always keep two anti-virus "chips" on hand. This Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool by Kaspersky Lab,And Dr. Web Cure from the same name office. Utilities do not require installation on a computer, so they do not "bite" with other anti-virus programs. And when using them, turning off the regular “guard”, and I have this Avast-free, is not required.

Next, let's check the settings. display shortcuts on the desktop. To do this, right-click (right-click) on the "empty desktop" and move our 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 op-la desktop of our computer again full of multi-colored labels and icons.

If not appeared, then by pressing 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, wait the appearance of icons on the desktop.

If nothing happened after that, then follow the path:
Start—Control Panel—Recovery—Start System Restore and after going through this procedure, all the 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 disappear from windows 7 desktop. And on this positive note, I want to finish this interesting topic, for now, everyone, and do not forget to subscribe to blog updates when leaving.

Sometimes Windows 10 clients encounter a problem: they turn on the computer, but their “Desktop” does not have certain icons that they need to work. Why can this happen? How to be in such a situation? Today we will consider how to return the necessary icons and get quick access to services and programs again.

Why icons disappear from the Windows 10 Desktop

Before you solve the problem with the sudden disappearance of icons in Windows 10, you need to consider why this could happen. There are several explanations:

1. Virus infection. They are able to make changes to system settings, thereby removing icons. In this regard, before returning the icons to the "Desktop", you need to scan the PC hard drives for malware using an antivirus so that after the icons are restored, the situation does not happen again.
2. System failure. This may be a single bug. In this case, you just need to manually return all the icons.
3. Disabled system process explorer.
4. Activated "Tablet Mode". To return the usual icons, you need to disable this mode.
5. Installing Windows updates with errors. If the icons disappeared immediately after the system update, it is possible that the update installation was incorrect. In this case, add the shortcuts again manually.
6. Incorrect shutdown of the second monitor.

Put the icons back on the "Desktop"

There are several ways to fix the situation: by eliminating the cause itself using the "Task Manager" and "Registry Editor" or by returning the necessary icons manually.

Using the context menu options

Utilities icons may be removed from the Desktop if their display is disabled. To enable the feature back, do the following:

If this method does not help, create the program icons again manually using another context menu option:

1. Again, click on the free field on the "Desktop" with the right mouse button.
2. In the list, click on "Create". Now click on "Shortcut".
   Click on "Shortcut" to create a shortcut to a specific program
3. In a new window, click on "Browse" to select the desired program file in "Windows Explorer".
   Click on the "Browse" button to select an application in "Windows Explorer"
4. As a rule, all utilities are stored on the system drive in the Program Files folder. We find the desired application, for example, Skype. Open the messenger folder and look for the Skype.exe file, which launches the utility. We click on OK.
   Select the file of the program whose shortcut you want to see on your "Desktop"
5. Now click on "Next" in the main window.
   Click on the "Next" button to continue the procedure for creating a shortcut
6. We print a new name for the shortcut or leave the standard file name. We click on "Finish".
   Enter a name for the label and click on "Finish"

Returning default icons in the Options window

If classic Windows icons, such as the Recycle Bin or My Computer, are missing from your home screen, you can quickly restore them. Just follow the instructions below:

1. First, click on an area free from icons on the Windows main screen with the right mouse button to bring up the context menu you already know.
   Select "Personalize" from the context menu of the "Desktop"
2. In the list of options and sections, click on the last item "Personalization".
3. In a large window, go directly to the "Themes" tab.
4. Now we turn our attention to the right column with links in the window. Click on "Desktop Icon Options".
   Click on the "Desktop Icon Options" link
5. A small window will open on top of the main one. In it, check the boxes to the left of the shortcuts that you want to see on your "Desktop". You can install "My Computer", "Control Panel", "Recycle Bin" and some others.
   Check the icons you need and click on "Apply"
6. After that, click on "Apply" and then on OK to close the additional window. The marked icons will immediately appear on your "Desktop".

Video: how to replace standard Windows shortcuts

Registry fix to restore "Desktop"

The sudden disappearance of icons from the "Desktop" can be triggered by errors in the registry - the database of the operating system, which the latter constantly accesses during operation. It stores all the settings of the system, utilities, connected equipment (printers, headphones, etc.), so it is very important that the registry works correctly. What to do if the reason is an error in the registry?

1. On the keyboard, hold down the key combination Win + R, which will bring up a small window "Run". In it we enter the word regedit.
   Enter the regedit command in the "Open" field
2. The Registry Editor window will open. Before further manipulations, you need to create a backup copy of the registry in case of incorrect editing. To do this, click on the "File" object on the top panel, and then on the "Export" option.
   Click on "Export" in the "File" menu
3. We print the name and save it in any folder convenient for you or even on the "Desktop". This file will help restore the registry to its previous state. To do this, you just need to launch it by double-clicking it.
   Save a backup copy of the registry in any convenient place
4. In the left part of the window, open the third main branch HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
   Open the third main folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE on the left side of the window
5. Now we sequentially launch the following folders: Software - Microsoft - WindowsNT - CurrentVersion - Winlogon.
   In the Winlogon folder, look for the Shell entry
6. On the right side of the window, look for a registry entry called Shell. We launch it by double clicking and see what value this parameter has. It should be explorer.exe. If there is another one, we immediately change it.
   The Shell parameter must be set to explorer.exe
7. The other setting in the Userinit list should be C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe.
   The Userinit parameter must be set to C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe
8. After changing the values ​​of these two parameters, a black screen may appear. Don't worry, it will disappear in a few seconds.

Restoring icons through the "Task Manager"

For the graphical design of Windows, the service process explorer.exe or "Explorer" is responsible. Icons may disappear at one moment from the "Desktop" due to the fact that it does not work correctly or is not running at all. In the first case, it must be restarted. How to do it?

1. In Windows 10, launching the "Task Manager" is very simple: right-click on the "Taskbar" and select the desired item in the context menu. Open the "Task Manager" through the context menu of the "Taskbar"
2. In the first section "Processes" we carefully look for the item "Explorer" in the list. Select it with the left mouse button, and then click on the "Restart" button located at the bottom of the window.
   Select the "Explorer" item in the "Processes" tab and click on "Restart"
3. If you did not find this process in the list, click on "File" on the top bar and select the first item "Run a new task".
   From the "File" menu, click on "Run a new task"
4. In a new small window in a single field, type explorer.exe or explorer. Click OK to run the created task.
   Enter the explorer.exe command in the "Open" field
5. The same launch command can be sent to the system in another way: using the Run window. Hold down the combination Win + R on the keyboard. Write one of the two commands and click on OK.

Turn off tablet mode

Icons do not appear on the "Desktop" if you have "Tablet Mode" activated. How to disable it and make it so that the system does not turn it on on its own?

1. First you need to make sure that "Tablet Mode" is not activated on your PC. To do this, hold down the Win and A (Latin) keys. An area with notifications and tiles will appear on the right side of the screen. The very first one will be "Tablet Mode". If it is active (saturated color as opposed to off), click on it once with the left mouse button. It will immediately dim - the screen will return to the "Desktop" mode.
2. After all the manipulations, you need to turn on the system Start menu and click on the gear-shaped icon, which is located directly above the device's shutdown button. This action will open the Windows Settings window. Click the gear icon on the Start menu to open Windows Settings
3. We launch the first section "System" with one click.
   Open the first section "System"
4. In the first drop-down menu, select "Use desktop mode" as the value, and in the second - "Always ask for permission before switching mode."
   In the first dropdown menu select "Use Desktop Mode"
5. Move the two sliders to the "On" position and then back to the "Off" position.

Shutdown PC using the button on the laptop

A non-standard way to return the icons is to turn off the device using the power button, and not through the system Start menu. To do this, close all utility windows and hold down the button. After turning on the computer, the shortcuts should reappear on the "Desktop".

Scanning the explorer.exe file

Icons can be removed from the "Desktop" if the explorer.exe file, which is responsible for the Windows 10 window interface, is damaged. What can be done in this case? You need to scan the file using special commands:

Video: Several Methods for Restoring Desktop Icons

System rollback

One of the most effective ways to get icons back is to restore the system to its previous state, when all the necessary icons were still on the Desktop. This method will help you if all the others give no results, and you do not want to return them manually. Use the following instructions:

1. We click on the icon in the form of a magnifying glass on the "Taskbar", located next to the "Start" button. We print the query "Control Panel". As you type, the system will return the expected search results. Click with the left mouse button on the item with the corresponding name. Open "Control Panel" using "Windows Search"
2. At the top, find the search bar and enter the query "Recovery". In the results, open the section with this name.
   Open the "Recovery" section in the "Control Panel"
3. Now you need to click on the second option "Start System Restore".
   Click on the second item "Start System Restore"
4. The recovery wizard window will appear on the screen. Read the information and simply click on the "Next" button in the lower right corner of the window.
   In the wizard window, click on "Next"
5. In the list of restore points, select the desired one with the left mouse button. Click on "Next" again. The Scan for Affected Programs button lets you know which utilities and drivers will be removed and which will be restored
6. We click on "Finish" so that the system starts the recovery process - rollback to the time when the shortcuts on the "Desktop" were still there.
   Click "Finish" to start the recovery process

Video: how to roll back the system using a restore point

Restoring icons on the "Taskbar"

You can put back the necessary icons on the "Taskbar" in several ways. In particular, by restarting the "Explorer" process in the "Task Manager" and by rolling back the system through a restore point. Detailed instructions for these methods have been described in the Restoring icons through Task Manager and System Rollback sections of this article.

You also have the right to manually install the same icons on the "Taskbar". To do this, do the following:

1. Right-click on a field free from shortcuts on the "Desktop". In the list, select the very last item "Personalization".
2. Now we switch immediately to the last tab "Taskbar". Scroll down the page to the link "Choose the icons displayed in the taskbar". We click on it.
   Click on the link "Choose the icons that appear on the taskbar"
3. Use the switches to add or remove system icons and utility icons. As you turn on certain icons, you will immediately see that they appear on the "Taskbar".
   Use the switches to activate the icons you need on the "Taskbar"
4. Click the back arrow to return to the main tab. Now click on the second link "Turn system icons on and off". Here you can configure the display of standard Windows icons on the Taskbar: power, touch keyboard, network, volume, etc. Turn on the icons you need and close the Windows settings window.
   Enable the system icons you need
5. If there was no program in the first list that you want to return to the "Taskbar", drag its shortcut from the "Desktop": to do this, hold down the icon with the left mouse button and drag it to the panel.
   Drag the program shortcut from the Desktop to the Taskbar
6. When the icon is within the panel, release the mouse button - the icon will be fixed.
   Skype shortcut stuck in taskbar

If you turned on Tablet Mode and all the icons from the Taskbar disappeared, it means that you have enabled the Hide application icons option in the Taskbar tab of the Windows Settings window. Find it and disable it using the instructions in the Turn off tablet mode section of this article.

If you suddenly lost the icons you need on the "Desktop" and "Taskbar", first of all check if you have any malware on your PC. To do this, use your updated antivirus. You can return the icons by creating new shortcuts through the context menu options and changing the settings in the Windows Settings window. The "Registry Editor" and "Task Manager" will also come to the rescue, in which you can restart the "Explorer" process, which is responsible for the Windows graphical interface and displaying icons.

The disappearance of shortcuts on the Windows 7 desktop is one of the signs of a computer infection with malware, in which the system file responsible for the functioning of the OS graphical shell has been damaged or it has not started correctly. To correct this situation, you must either restore the damaged data, or correctly specify the path to it in the registry.

Ways to restore icons on the desktop

In Windows 7, the explorer.exe program, located on drive C in the Windows folder, is responsible for desktop visualization. If you change its parameters, the 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 severity of the damage and the availability of data required for resuscitation on the computer.

Activating the icon display function

If all the icons on the Windows 7 desktop have disappeared, but the taskbar is working normally, then this may indicate that the shortcut display function is disabled. If this is true, then in the "Desktop" or Desktop folder, which is located on the system drive, all icons should be present.

To restart this function, you must:

If there are no icons in the Desktop directory, then they were removed from the system due to the functioning of malware or rash user actions. In this case, the above recovery method will not work.

Manual launch of explorer.exe

If the disappearance of icons from the Windows 7 desktop is not related to damage to the explorer.exe application, then it can be started manually from the Start menu or Task Manager. In the first case, you need to enter the "Start" and in the "Run" tab type explorer.exe.

If the taskbar disappeared along with all the icons, then to run the above file you need to:

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 the 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 a computer is infected, it may happen that instead of launching explorer.exe, a virus program is opened. 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 icons on the desktop should be restored.

Applications of additional software

If shortcuts have disappeared on your PC, and for some reason you cannot enter the registry or run the explorer.exe command, you can try to restore the desktop using special software.

Such a program is the universal antivirus AVZ. Its positive quality is that it can not only calculate and clean the system of viruses, but also restore Windows system files, unlock access to the Task Manager, reanimate 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.

The Windows desktop is the first element of the graphical interface that we see after starting the computer. On it, we place the icons and shortcuts we need, which help to quickly and easily launch the programs necessary for work.

A fairly common problem is that shortcuts from the desktop suddenly disappear. The situation is not pleasant. But fixing the situation is not difficult.

note: If you have problems with your computer, the first thing to do is check it for viruses! Do all other actions only at the end of the check!

This is a 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 troubleshooting work will be done in vain.

We solve problems

Immediately it is worth noting that there may be several reasons. Starting from the most harmless ones, which we will fix in a couple of seconds, and ending with the more serious ones. But we can overcome them too. Let's talk about everything in more detail.

Desktop settings

As you understand, there are a large number of parameters. Among this list, there are those that are responsible for shortcuts - appearance, size, location.

For example, let's imagine a situation where the shortcuts on the windows 7 desktop disappeared. What should we do?

We call the context menu - for this we right-click on any free place on the desktop. The same result is achieved by pressing the "menu" button on the keyboard.

Hover over the line "view", and go to the drop-down menu. Here we need to make sure that there is a check mark next to the item " display desktop icons". Now click the item " arrange icons automatically and check the result.

At first glance, the method may seem too simple, but for inexperienced users it may come in handy.

Explorer.exe

Problems with windows explorer can cause shortcuts to disappear from the desktop. As we have already noted, in the event of a problem, the first thing we do is scan your computer for viruses.

In the menu, we should click the "file" button, then " new task (do...)". 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 start it manually. If this did not help to return the files to the windows 7 desktop, proceed to the next step.

System Restore

The windows operating system is thought out to the smallest detail. And of course it has built-in diagnostics and troubleshooting functionality.

Please note that in order to use this method, you must have previously saved restore points. These are the so-called snapshots of the system, with all the necessary settings. You can check this as follows. We find the "my computer" icon on the desktop, call the context menu for it and click the "properties" item.

In the window that opens, in the left navigation menu, click " advanced system settings", and go to the " system protection" tab. In the picture above, you see that system recovery is enabled for drive C. This means that restore points are created automatically.

So, if this feature works for you, read on. If not, proceed to the next step.

The easiest way to start System Restore looks like this:

Press Win + R and in the "run" type rstrui.exe. Then press Enter.

So, if the shortcuts from your desktop are gone, 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. You just have to check the result.

Working with the registry

What else can be done to return our shortcuts to the desktop? Let's check the correctness of the system registry settings.

Press Win+R and enter regedit.exe .

Expands these folders sequentially in the navigation:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon/

Here we find the shell parameter, click on it, and check the value. The correct option is explorer.exe. If it's not correct, change it. The figure below shows the correct version:

After that, open this branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Image File Execution Options/

Here we check if there are such sections:

1. explorer.exe
2. iexplorer.exe

If they are present, they should be removed. After that, restart the computer and check the result.

Using the AVZ utility

The powerful AVZ software tool allows you to scan your computer for viruses and carry out diagnostic activities.

Install and run it. Before us will be the starting window:

The program has many useful features, including restoring explorer settings. This can help bring back missing shortcuts from the desktop.

Press the menu "file, then" System Restore". in the menu that appears, mark items 5, 8, 9, 16. And press " perform the selected operations".

We are waiting for the end of the process, as always, restart the PC, and check the result.

One way or another, one of the ways should return you the missing labels.

Video for the article:

Conclusion

If problems arise, do not panic. You must determine if changes have been made to the system settings. If so, fix them.

In the event that you did not change the settings, use our recommendations and run Windows diagnostics. With our instructions, returning shortcuts to your desktop is not difficult.

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