How to restore system icons on the desktop
Generally, on all Windows operating systems, there are various default icons and other links to favorite programs, which facilitate the recall of the operations that are performed.
Sometimes it can happen that inadvertently the system icons on the desktop, (to understand: Computer resources, Network resources, Documents, Internet Explorer, Trash, etc), can disappear and the problem can be due to various causes: virus / trojan and related anti-virus cleaning operations, accidental removal of keys in the registry, a wrong click somewhere (perhaps on the CANC key), or someone has modified your ” virtual desk ” without asking permission, and you don’t have the minimal idea how to restore these useful icons.
Most Windows 10 systems by default include only the Recycle Bin icon. Whatever the current configuration, it is quite simple to show or hide one of these icons on the system. Here is how to restore the system icons on the desktop.
Windows 7 and Windows 8
First click with the right mouse button on an empty space on the desktop and choose the ” Customize ” option. If you are using Windows 8, clicking ” Customize ” will open the new Settings app. On the left side, go to the ” Themes ” tab. On the right side, scroll down and click on the ” Desktop Icon Settings ” link.
If you are using Windows 7, clicking ” Customize ” will open the personalization control panel screen. In the upper left part of the window, click on the ” Change desktop icons ” link. Whatever version of Windows you use, the ” Settings desktop icon ” window that opens later has the same appearance.
Select the check boxes for the icons you want to display on the desktop and click the ” OK ” button. You should see the icons appear as soon as you click Apply.
Windows 10
If you use Windows 10 and all the icons are gone, the first thing to do is to make sure you have not inadvertently de-selected the option? Show Icons on the Desktop? present on all Windows 10 systems.
If this is the cause of the ” disappearance ” of your icons, click with the right mouse button on the desktop and, in the contextual menu that will be displayed, open the ” View ” panel and make sure that the ” Show Icons on Desktop ” option is actually enabled.
If so, continue reading, otherwise enable it and you will have solved. The first thing you will need to do is figure out which version of Windows you are using. To hide an icon, press the Windows D key on the keyboard or go to the Windows desktop and right-click on the shortcut icon on the desktop you want to hide. From the drop-down menu that appears, select Properties. Under the General tab, locate the Attributes section. Check the box next to ” Hidden ” to hide a single icon.
Windows Vista and Windows 7
In case you have ” Vista ” or ” 7 ” as Windows version, you will have to click with the right mouse button on the desktop and choose ” Personalize ” from the drop-down menu that appears. You will have to select the ” Change icons on the desktop ” item located on the left of the screen. A box will appear with the icons that you can restore on the screen, even in this case you just need to put the various flags on the ones you want and finally confirm with the OK or Restore button.
The operations seen in the examples are really very simple. If your operating system was not mentioned in the two previous explanations, you need not to worry. Fortunately, the operating philosophy of the various versions of Windows is almost always the same, and you can try to follow, with a little logic, the same steps (sometimes the same item is named differently or with some synonyms) and you will be able to solve your problem in a rather simple way.
Widows XP
In the event that your operating system is Windows XP, then you will have to click with the right mouse button on any empty area of the desktop and from the drop-down menu that appears you will select the ” Properties ” item. From the video window that appears, select the ” Desktop ” tab and finally the ” Personalize Desktop ” item.
At this point, in the upper pane, you simply have to flag the icons that you want to restore on your work area and give the double confirmation on the OK button. Then on the screen you will see the icons you have previously selected appear.
To hide or show the icons, press the Windows + D key on the keyboard or click on the Windows desktop. Right-click on the desktop and click Customize. From the drop-down menu that appears, select View. Click on Show desktop icons to activate or deactivate them. Repeat these steps to reverse the procedure.
