Tech News Today
  • Hardware
    • Motherboards
    • CPUs
    • Graphic Cards
    • RAM
    • SSDs
    • Computer Cases
    • Monitors
    • Peripherals
    • Power Supply Unit
    • PC Builds
    • Computer Tips
  • Software
  • Operating System
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
  • Gaming
  • Mobile
  • Console
  • More
    • Internet
    • Networking
    • Security
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Gadgets
    • Laptops
    • Reviews
    • How To
    • News
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Tech News Today
  • Hardware
    • Motherboards
    • CPUs
    • Graphic Cards
    • RAM
    • SSDs
    • Computer Cases
    • Monitors
    • Peripherals
    • Power Supply Unit
    • PC Builds
    • Computer Tips
  • Software
  • Operating System
    • Windows
    • Mac
    • Linux
  • Gaming
  • Mobile
  • Console
  • More
    • Internet
    • Networking
    • Security
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Gadgets
    • Laptops
    • Reviews
    • How To
    • News
Tech News Today
Home»Windows»Desktop Icons Missing or Disappeared? Here’s 9 Proven Ways to Fix it

Desktop Icons Missing or Disappeared? Here’s 9 Proven Ways to Fix it

Deependra PangeniBy Deependra PangeniAugust 30, 2022
desktop-icons-missing

The desktop icons are part of Windows GUI for launching applications on Windows. However, sometimes the icons cease to function properly when called upon.

Most of the people reported that their icons disappeared after updating the Windows. But, it’s not the case always. Icons can also sometimes disappear when running heavy graphics applications on your computer due to high resource consumption.

Most of the time, the icon may be accidentally deleted and can be easily restored from the Recycle Bin.

Table of Contents

  • Probable Causes of the Issue
  • Fixes for Missing or Disappeared Desktop Icons
    • Restore Application Specific Shortcuts
    • Enable Visibility From Desktop
    • Use Personalization Settings
    • Turn Off Tablet Mode
    • Make Changes in Local Policy
    • Run a Malware or Virus Scan
    • Run SFC Scan
    • Restore Icon Cache
    • Perform a System Restore

Probable Causes of the Issue

Let’s point out some of the probable causes of the issue before moving to the fixes section:
  • Deleted desktop icons
  • Unresponsive Windows Explorer
  • Hidden icons from desktop
  • Enabled tablet mode
  • Misconfigured local policy settings
  • Corrupted system files
  • Virus and malware attacks
  • Outdated Graphics driver
  • Issues with icon cache

Fixes for Missing or Disappeared Desktop Icons

Using your computer without desktop icons becomes pretty irksome. Navigation takes longer, and your efficiency is reduced. Getting back your missing desktop icons is pretty simple after applying simple fixes like restarting Windows explorer and enabling icons visibility.

Here, we have compiled a list of 9 fixes you can apply to solve the problem. Let’s dive straight into them.

Restore Application Specific Shortcuts

If you see other icons as usual, but only application-specific icons are missing from your desktop, this fix is for you. For instance, you may have installed Google Chrome but not seen its icon on the desktop.

In such a case, you can restore the icon following these steps:

  1. Go to the installation folder of Chrome on your local drive C drive.
  2. Right-click over Chrome‘s executable file.
  3. Select Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). You will now see Chrome’s icon on the desktop.
    create shortcut of chrome

Enable Visibility From Desktop

Windows lets you easily turn on or off the icons’ visibility from the desktop. It is possible that you may have accidentally hidden the icons and are facing issues.

Follow these steps to enable the icons’ visibility from the desktop:

  1. Hover your mouse over empty area on your desktop.
  2. Do a right-click over there.
  3. Click View option from the context menu.
  4. Check Show desktop icons if it is unchecked.
    Desktop Icons Missing
  5. If it is already checked, try unchecking and checking it again.

Use Personalization Settings

If you are not seeing only the fundamental icons like This PC, Network, and Recycle Bin on your desktop, you can enable it from theme settings easily.

Follow these steps:

  1. Right-click anywhere on the empty area of your desktop.
  2. Choose Personalize.
  3. Click Themes menu on the right section.
  4. Click Desktop icon settings under Related Settings.
  5. In the Desktop icon settings popup, check the box next to the icons you want to appear on the desktop.
    desktop-icon-settings
  6. Click OK to save changes.

Turn Off Tablet Mode

Tablet mode is a feature available in most touch-enabled Windows PCs. It lets you use your PC like a tablet after detaching it from the keyboard. Microsoft itself says that the number of desktop icons you see is reduced in tablet mode. If you also face an issue after enabling the tablet mode, consider disabling it and checking if the desktop icons return.

Please note that tablet mode is not available in Windows 11. You can try this fix if you are on Windows 10 or earlier.

Follow these steps:

  1. Press Windows + I key to open Settings.
  2. While on Settings, click System > Tablet mode.
  3. In Tablet mode settings, select Use desktop mode under When I sign in drop-down.
  4. Also, select Always ask me before switching in When this device automatically switches tablet mode on or off drop-down.
    tablet-mode-on

Make Changes in Local Policy

A local policy editor is used to define rules and policies for your computer. Misconfigured policy settings are another reason why desktop icons disappear. You can enable or disable viewing of desktop icons from the local policy editor.

Here’s how:

  1. In the Run text box, type gpedit.msc and hit Enter key to load Local Group Policy Editor.
  2. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates.
  3. Double-click Desktop in the right section.
  4. Choose and open Hide and disable all items on the desktop.
    hide-and-disable-all-items-on-the-desktop
  5. Check the box next to Not Configured and click OK to save the changes.
    not-configured-desktop-items

Run a Malware or Virus Scan

Another major reason why your icons disappear is malware or virus. They cause boundless harm to your PC, and not to mention; they are also responsible for taking away the desktop icons. If you have an antivirus installed on your PC, you can run a quick scan and see if you get the icons back. If you don’t have one, you can also use a built-in malware scanner tool on your Windows PC.

Here’s how:

  1. Right-click over the Start button and choose Settings from the list of options.
  2. Navigate to Privacy & Security > Windows Security
  3. Click Virus & threat protection under Protection areas.
  4. Click the Quick scan button to start a quick scan. It will find and remove malware if any are present and probably fixes issues with desktop icons.
    quick scan feature

Run SFC Scan

System files and registry corruption are other reasons the icons disappear from your desktop screen. The System File Checker (SFC) tool is used to find and repair the corrupted files that are possibly causing the issue with desktop icons. It makes use of cached files in one of the compressed folders of your local disk C: to replace the damaged files. If corrupted files were the issue, the desktop icons should be restored once the SFC scan is completed.

Follow these steps to run SFC scan:

  1. Press Windows + R key.
  2. Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter simultaneously.
  3. Click Yes in the UAC popup.
  4. In the command window, type SFC /scannow and hit Enter key. SFC scan will begin and do the rest of the work.
    sfc scannow
  5. After the scan is completed, restart your computer and see if you got the desktop icons back.

Restore Icon Cache

Windows utilizes an icon cache database file that stores copies of every icon on your desktop. Shortcut icons are generally retrieved from the installation folder of applications, but it is a slower process. So, to speed up the icon loading, an icon cache is used. But sometimes, the icon cache ceases to work, possibly due to corruption, and can not draw icons on your desktop. 

You can use a few commands to restore the icon cache and see if it solves the problem.

Here’s how:

  1. Open Run by hitting Windows + R key.
  2. Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
  3. Click Yes in the UAC popup.
  4. In the command window, copy and paste the following commands and press Enter key after each command.
    • taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
    • cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
    • attrib –h IconCache.db
    • del IconCache.db
    • start explorer.execlear-cache-restore
  5. After the command execution finishes, check if you got your icons back.
Note : Since you are killing File Explorer task, everything can go blank when running these commands. Please note these commands somewhere else and execute.

Perform a System Restore

If you recently made some changes to your PC settings or installed any application and started facing issues with the desktop icons, you can use the system restore feature. System restore uses the restore points stored on your PC and reverts the problematic settings to the working settings.

Follow these steps to perform a system restore:

  1. Right-click the Start button and select Run.
  2. Type control and press Enter to open Control Panel.
  3. In the Control Panel search box in the top-right corner, type recovery.
  4. Select Recovery menu from the search result.
  5. Click Open System Restore and follow the on-screen instructions to restore your system to the earlier state.
    open-system-restore
fix
Deependra Pangeni
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Meet Deependra Pangeni, A professional Computer Engineer who has been writing about technology for many years. He is also involved in different robotic projects and loves tinkering with circuit boards. He is always researching new ways to improve the website's user experience and make it easy for people to find the information they need. At TechNewsToday he mainly deals with how-to and fixes contents for a range of TV and TV products like remotes, cables and streaming devices. Along with the TV, he also specializes in hardware and software troubleshooting for printers and Windows. Deependra's passion for simplifying complex technical information for non-technical audiences is evident in his work and he is dedicated to producing high-quality content that is easy to understand. When he is not working, he enjoys gathering with his friends, partying and traveling. He is also an active member of the technical community groups and regularly participates in tech meetups. You can contact him at deepen@technewstoday.com

Related Posts

boot loop

14 Ways to Fix Windows Boot Loop

March 19, 2023
how to change windows startup sound

How to Change Windows Startup Sound

March 17, 2023
scan disk windows 10

How to Scan Disk Windows

March 16, 2023
Shared GPU Memory

What is Shared GPU Memory? How is It Different From Dedicated VRAM?

March 12, 2023
firmware vs software

Firmware Vs Software – What’s the Difference?

March 8, 2023
update sound drivers

How to Update Sound Drivers on Windows

March 7, 2023
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Latest Posts
sata ports on motherboard

All the Types of SATA Ports on Motherboard

March 21, 2023
anti-aliasing-on-or-off

What is Anti Aliasing? Should You Turn It on or off

March 21, 2023
APU vs CPU

APU Vs CPU – What’s the Difference?

March 19, 2023
You may also like
caps key not working

6 Ways to Fix Caps Key Not Working

March 23, 2023
how to increase ram on laptop

How to Increase RAM on Laptop? (Step-by-Step Guide)

March 23, 2023
how to overclock ram

How to Overclock RAM? (Step-by-Step Guide)

March 22, 2023
Recommended
Cookie Clicker Garden Guide

Cookie Clicker Garden Guide to Unlocking Every Seed

September 26, 2021
monitor no signal

Computer Turns On But Monitor Says No Signal (9 Ways To Fix)

November 10, 2022
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate Disclosure
© 2023 TechNewsToday, editor@technewstoday.com | Tech Central Pvt. Ltd.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.