The Windows 10 operating system has many different features. Among them is the ability to completely remove desktop icons. Moreover, I have already encountered this a couple of times on user computers. Moreover, they somehow managed to hide the shortcuts (by accident or the children were playing around), but they didn’t know what to do next and how to get the desktop icons back.
It turns out that everything is very, very simple. Click on the desktop right click mouse and in the context menu that appears, select the item View >>> Show desktop icons:
After this, the folders and shortcuts will appear again.
Note:
operating room Windows system 10 is installed not only on computers and laptops, but also on tablets and phones. And for this type of device there is a special mode that slightly changes the OS interface for ease of working on a screen with a small diagonal and finger control. Because of it, shortcuts and icons on the desktop disappear. To return them back, you need to open Windows settings 10 and go to the section System:
There will be an item “Tablet Mode”:
Find the very first switch » Enable additional features sensory Windows management when using the device as a tablet" and slide it to the Off.
After this, the folders and shortcuts will appear again.
P.S.: I forgot to mention one more thing. Sometimes it may happen that Windows 10 desktop icons disappear due to a failure of the services responsible for the interface. working system. There were, the computer froze - and the folders with shortcuts disappeared. In this case, restart your computer or laptop. Did not help? Then try creating a folder on your desktop.
To do this, right-click anywhere in it and select the menu item “Create >>> Folder”. The directory name can be absolutely anything - it doesn't matter. It’s just that very often the creation of some new element allows you to “straighten the brains” of the system and bring back the icons.
Shortcuts have disappeared from the desktop in Windows 10. Windows is new, but the problems are old. :) Judging by user reviews, Windows 10 is disliked by more than half the percent of users who managed to update to it. The number of ill-wishers especially increased after the operating system began deleting programs without asking. And the November update - how do you like it? What else can we expect?
You know, in psychology there is such a principle: the more expectations about an event, the higher the likelihood of crushing disappointment. If you wait more, you get less; if you wait less, you get more. The principle is reinforced concrete, no exceptions.
Lately I have started receiving emails with the subject line “Icons have disappeared from the desktop, what should I do?” And this is not one or two letters, I tell you. Actually, this is what befell me to write a small, as they say, manual on this topic.
Why have my desktop icons disappeared?
There may be several options. As an example - computer virus. A system crash that could have been caused by the same malware. Lack of banal rules for caring for a computer, in particular cleaning it, and correct shutdown, and working with a computer in general. The human factor is haste and inattention.
1. First, you should check whether you have the display of desktop elements enabled. To do this, right-click on an empty space on the desktop. In the “drop-down” menu, look to see if the required function is ticked. If disabled, activate it.
This type of setting is also suitable for Windows 7.
2. And, as an option, you can do the following. Go to Start -> Settings -> System. In the “Tablet Mode” tab, we try to swap the position of the switch. First to the “On” position, then “Off”, or vice versa.
Windows 10 OS is full of mysteries for most of its users. Despite the fact that it appeared more than a year ago, questions about its use remain to this day. Among them is the problem with the lack of shortcuts from the desktop. Dealing with this situation on your own is somewhat problematic. This article will discuss what to do if icons from Windows 10 have disappeared.
The disappearance of shortcuts on a personal computer may be due to several reasons:
The display setting in system properties is disabled;
A virus has appeared on your hard drive software that disrupt the operation of the system;
Laptop mode is activated or personal computer as a tablet.
It cannot be ruled out that icons disappeared from the Windows 10 desktop for a number of other reasons. However, the above circumstances most often lead to the fact that the user is not able to launch programs on the computer through shortcuts.
Checking shortcut display settings
Hiding icons in the workspace can be initiated by the user. For example, if you need to hide everything that is located in a given zone. You can check which mode is activated on your computer quite simply. You need to click on the workspace space and select “View”. There are several settings here that allow you to manage the content. Among them is the “Show icons” option. If the box next to it is checked, then program shortcuts and other files should be displayed on the desktop. This setting allows you to display or hide all the data that was placed here.
In case this checkbox is missing, then it is not surprising why the icons are missing from the Windows 10 desktop. There is a way to check whether the missing shortcuts are due to this setting or not. Just open Explorer and select “Desktop” on the left side. If the icons appear in the window, then you really just need to enable the display setting.
Deactivating tablet mode
The lack of icons on the desktop may be due to the fact that the device is in tablet mode. To check whether the current problem is related to this setting, you should go to the Notification Center. This section is located in the lower right part of the screen (on Then you need to select the “All settings” settings block). This section contains tools for managing the operating system.
After selecting the “System” section, a list of options will be displayed on the left side of the screen, including “Tablet Mode”. To deactivate it, set the slider to the “disabled” state (here this is needed for the very first setting “Additional Windows touch capabilities when using the device as a tablet”). If all actions are carried out correctly, then you will no longer have to think about why icons disappeared from the Windows 10 desktop.
Force a call to an explorer session
If the system has problems with the work of the explorer, then it is not surprising that icons have disappeared from the desktop; its work can be done forcibly. This can be done by simply restarting the computer or through a tool such as Task Manager. If everything is clear with the first method, then the second requires explanation.
You can open the manager by clicking on the taskbar and selecting the appropriate item. In the form that appears, execute the “File” command and initiate the creation of a new task. In the “Open” field you need to enter a name and confirm the entry with the “OK” button. After completing these steps, an explorer window will open, which is also responsible for the presence of shortcuts on the user’s desktop.
Refresh desktop
Sometimes the lack of shortcuts can be due to a system glitch. To eliminate this reason, you can try or update the desktop using the command of the same name context menu, or add a new object in the free area (for example, a folder, document, etc.). If the newly formed object is displayed, then perhaps someone was just playing a joke and removed all the shortcuts, causing the user to get pretty worried.
Checking your computer for viruses and malware
If icons have disappeared from the Windows 10 desktop and it was not possible to get them to display using the above methods, then it makes sense to check the system for malware. This can be done using antivirus program, which is already present on the PC or use a third-party utility. It is possible that the lack of icons was the result of malware disrupting the systems.
Another universal method is to use the recovery tool built into the operating system. With its help, you can return your desktop to its previous state. These tools are accessed through the “Start” menu, “All Programs” section. In the list you should find “Standard”, and then “Service”. Of course, such a “rollback” of the system will overwrite some of the settings that were made during the period from the moment the restore point was created to the current moment.
Conclusion
Do not despair if icons have disappeared from the Windows 10 desktop. We discussed earlier in this article how to get them back, as well as other files and documents that were on it. Typically, one of the above methods can help resolve this situation. The absence of icons in the work area is often due to the fact that the user himself, without noticing it, turns off their display.
This may also be due to viruses and other malicious programs that can penetrate the computer via the Internet or external equipment (disks, flash drives, mobile devices). Before taking drastic measures (such as system recovery), you should use the previously discussed tips to understand why all the icons disappeared from the Windows 10 desktop.
- Worker missing Windows table
, but appears along with all folders and shortcuts if you boot into Safe Mode. What do you think, admin, what could be wrong? My problems began with an active Saturday surfing the Internet, looking for a disk image from my laptop (I touched mine somewhere). I found the image I needed on one of the sites, but decided to open and look at the screenshot of the disk, located on another site - image hosting. And at that moment, I suddenly got alarmed and issued a warning that there was a virus in the folder C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp and cleaning was impossible, then the computer froze, I had to force a reboot. After the reboot, a completely empty Windows desktop awaited me, without folders or shortcuts; instead of my permanent screensaver there was another one, and even with such an image, it’s better not to tell you. I tried to launch the Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Del, but after it the screen turns black and so on ad infinitum.
I’ve been reading your articles for a long time, I immediately tried to boot into it and was successful, there is a desktop there along with folders with shortcuts in place. Unfortunately, I can’t use it, it’s disabled for me. I launched and scanned the entire system partition C:, three viruses were found, then I booted into the system and, interestingly, the alien screensaver disappeared, but the desktop was still empty. I also have an antivirus at the ready, so I think it’s useful. I booted from the disk, after a full scan another virus was found, but during normal boot the desktop still did not appear. Are there any other options for me other than ? Sergey.
Windows desktop disappeared
Friends, very often I have had to deal with this problem; at first glance, readers asked me two identical questions, but they are solved differently. Let's look at the first case first, since it is much more serious, because it concerns Windows infection by a virus.First of all, in order to successfully deal with this problem, you need to know which system file the virus modifies and which registry settings it changes, then it will not be difficult for you to quickly fix everything. I suggest you take everything apart possible ways solutions to this problem and let's start with the simplest and fastest ones.
- If all else fails, be sure to try the very last method in this article, it’s called If all else fails, it often helps me when my desktop disappears.
- Of course, you need to use anti-virus treatment utilities, then fix the registry and (we'll sort it all out), but you can solve the problem and more in a simple way. I'm sure that if our first reader had System Restore enabled, which can be applied perfectly in Safe Mode, the problem would have been solved in five minutes. First of all, in such cases, you need to remember about recovery; it was invented for a reason.
So, if when we boot Windows the desktop is empty, like a wallet before payday, we try to immediately (without restarting the computer) type the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Del, the Task Manager should open, then File -> New Task.
We enter explorer in the input field and OK, the desktop should appear with all the shortcuts and folders.
It is the Explorer.exe file that is responsible for launching the Windows graphical shell,
which consists of the desktop, start menu, toolbars and explorer. If the system file Explorer.exe does not start along with the operating system, then the desktop will not start. The explorer.exe file is located in the C:\Windows folder.
You may ask me: - Why didn’t the Explorer.exe file start on its own and you need to force it to start. You can answer this way: - We are lucky, friends, yes, yes, we are lucky - malware just changed some important parameters registry responsible for launching the Explorer.exe file (but did not change the file itself). Instead of the Explorer.exe file and the desktop, a malicious application was launched, the process of which can be seen in the Task Manager. How can I fix a damaged registry and make Explorer.exe start on its own? Of course, apply system restore, this is the easiest method. Apply system restore.
Important Note: Friends, sometimes a malicious program modifies or deletes the Explorer.exe file itself. If this article does not help you, read another one, it describes a method for removing the explorer.exe file from the Windows 7 distribution and replacing the faulty file with it.
In exactly half of the cases the problem will be solved and the next time you boot you will see your desktop, then you can check the system for viruses. By the way, you can immediately call system recovery in the Task Manager - File -> New task, enter rstrui.exe in the input field, but this is in Windows 7 and 8. In Windows XP you need to type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
In most cases, you will see your desktop. Apply system restore and roll back a day.
If in safe mode there is also an empty desktop, but you have system recovery enabled, then you can type Ctrl+Alt+Del, the Task Manager will open, then File -> New task, enter explorer.exe in the input field, the desktop will appear or enter immediately command rstrui.exe, system recovery will start, roll back and check the computer for viruses. It is also advisable to restore the system Windows files.
Safe Mode with Command Line Support
In safe mode with command line support, type explorer.exe in the command line, the desktop opens, then run system restore, edit the registry, and so on.
We can immediately start system recovery with the command rstrui.exe 
In Windows XP, type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
System restore does not work for some reason
If in all modes system recovery does not work and does not solve the problem, and the desktop is still empty during normal boot, then we go to the registry and manually correct the parameters changed by the virus.
The Explorer.exe application deserves special mention in our entire story, as I already said, it is responsible for launching the Windows graphical shell, which consists of the desktop, start menu, toolbars and explorer.
It is the Explorer.exe file that in our case is attacked by viruses and, if successful, they modify it, as a result of this modification - the Explorer.exe file infected with a virus and a lifeless Windows desktop. But in some cases, viruses do not touch the Explorer.exe file, but change some registry settings. As a result, when the operating system boots, it does NOT refer to the Explorer.exe file, but to a completely different virus file. As a result, the Windows graphical shell again does not load. How to fix the registry if system restore did not work for us?
IN safe mode, launch the registry - Start -> Run and type regedit in the input field,
The registry will open. If in safe mode you also have an empty desktop, then try the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Del, the Task Manager will open, then File -> New task, enter regedit in the input field.
First of all, you need to look at the problem in the registry branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon look at the line “shell” it should have the value “explorer.exe”. And in our case, instead of explorer.exe there is the value c:\users\Your username\appdata\local\temp\2lfg38m0.exe 
If at this time we manage to launch the task manager, then instead of the system process Explorer.exe we will see some malicious process, in our case 2lfg38m0.exe.
In the same thread, look at another line “Userinit” It should have the value “C:\Windows\system32\userinit.exe”, there should be nothing after the comma. In our case, again the value is c:\users\Username\appdata\local\temp\2lfg38m0.exe
All this needs to be removed and the registry restored to normal. We correct both values in the registry.
Let's look at another registry branch
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer, if there is a parameter: NoDesktop, then its value should be 0, but in no case 1. In general, the NoDesktop parameter can be deleted.
Using the name of the virus 2lfg38m0.exe, I search the registry and find another modified value. Branch
c:\users\Username\appdata\local\temp\2lfg38m0.exe, delete all this, there should be nothing here at all.
Shell parameter must be empty
Explorer.exe file
All this is good, but we have considered the solution to the problem from one side, that is, the Explorer.exe file is not infected, but the virus has made malicious changes in the registry. We performed a system restore, scanned our Windows with anti-virus utilities and removed viruses, then fixed the registry, that’s basically it, the problem is solved and after booting into normal mode we have a desktop.
But the problem may be different, the Explorer.exe file may be infected or deleted altogether, and even if we want to, even with a normal registry, we will not be able to load the Windows desktop. Therefore, if you have when loading operating system it turns out - explorer.exe error or explorer.exe application error and sometimes it's just a black screen.
This means you need to enter Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Command Prompt support and perform recovery system files . How to do it?
Select safe mode with command line support.
Type sfc /scannow on the command line.
Windows system files are checked and restored; sometimes the system may ask you to insert a Windows installation disk into the drive. Our file - Explorer.exe will be restored.
AVZ utility
At the end of the answer to the first letter, I would like to give an example of a well-known AVZ utility. If everything said above does not help, you can use this utility.
Let's go to the website of the utility developer - Oleg Zaitsev.
http://z-oleg.com/secur/avz/download.php
Download the utility
Please note here that many users make a mistake when launching the utility. Press CRTL+ALT+DEL, the task manager appears, click File->New task, in the field that opens, enter the full path to the avz.exe file. For example, my file avz.exe is located in the folder C:\Users\Username\Desktop\avz4\avz.exe
So we type C:\Users\Your Username\Desktop\avz4\avz.exe
The main program window opens
We update the AVZ utility. File –> database update
File->System Restore
Check the boxes for items 9. Removing system process debuggers and 16. Restoring the Explorer launch key, then click “Perform selected operations.”
Reply to the second letter
Quite recently I had a similar case. One of my friends in the screen settings found, in addition to the main Samsung monitor, something else unknown to him Display device: VGA. He became interested and made it the main screen, then clicked Apply.
After this, the monitor screen turned black, restarting the computer did not help, the Ctrl+Alt+Del key combination did not help either - the task manager did not appear. What helped was this: when you booted the computer, you had to press F-8, the troubleshooting menu would open, in which you need to select Loading Last Known Good Configuration that's all. You could also enter safe mode and apply system restore.
Another time there was a completely funny incident. The security guards in our organization decided at night to connect to one system unit two monitors and they were doing something there, probably playing. In the morning we turned off the computer and disconnected the second monitor, then turned on the computer, and there was an empty desktop. I was the first to come to work, they run to me, they say help me, otherwise everything on the computer is gone, and soon the bosses will come.
I go to help and think what’s missing there after all. I sit down at the computer and say - what’s missing? And they show me at the monitor with their hands - look, there is nothing.
I tried Ctrl+Alt+Del, the task manager did not appear, I looked, but the mouse pointer was on the desktop, then I right-clicked on the desktop without much hope and a menu appeared, selected Screen Resolution, I see two monitors in the Screen settings, made it the main one the monitor is active and Apply, the desktop appears.
If all else fails
There is another little-known way to restore Windows 7 boot after a failure, and I’ll tell you about it. At first glance, it may seem difficult to many, but nevertheless it often helps me out.
The fact is, friends, that a very large part of the problems due to which you cannot boot Windows 7 lie in registry errors. And Windows 7 would not be Windows 7 if it did not have a mechanism that protects registry files. Such a mechanism exists and creates backup copies of the registry in the RegBack folder every 10 days, regardless of whether you have system recovery enabled or not.
If you can't solve problems with loading Windows 7 you should try replacing the current (and apparently damaged) registry files from the Config folder with archived files from the RegBack folder. To do this, we will have to boot the computer from the installation Windows disk 7 or disk Windows recovery 7.
Boot into the recovery environment, select command line
and type in it – notepad , we get into Notepad, then File and Open.
We go into the real explorer, click My Computer. Now we need system disk C:, please note, the drive letters here may be mixed up, but the system drive C:, I think you can recognize it by the system drive letters located inside Windows folders and Program Files.
We go to the folder C:\Windows\System32\Config, here are the active registry files, specify the File Type - All files and see our registry files, we also see the RegBack folder, in which every 10 days the Task Scheduler makes a backup copy of the registry keys.
So, we will replace the existing registry files from the Config folder backup files registry from the RegBack folder.
So, first of all, let’s delete from the C:\Windows\System32\Config folder the files SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE, DEFAULT, SYSTEM, which are responsible for all registry hives,
and in their place we will copy and paste files with the same names, but from backup copy, that is, from the RegBack folder.
