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These icons are not short cuts, but notepad files. Why are they there? How can they be eliminated?
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi AntipodeamRJ,
Enabling the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) setting in Folder Options hides the two Desktop.ini files, as well. To access the Folder Options, open Windows Explorer, click Organize, click Folder and Search Options and select the View tab.
Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows Desktop Experience]
Desktop.ini--when it appears on the actual desktop, where system files don't belong--is a VIRUS. If you don't catch it right away, it will lock you out of the administrative priviliges and any attempt to delete it will result in Permission Denied message. It won't let you do System Restore (you'll get an error that restore did not complete). Not will you be able to do much from the command prompt, because you no longer have the access to system files.
I really wish people would look up information on possible viruses before giving entirely useless advices on how hide a file that would have never be visible if everything was OK.
I have not been able to find a way to remove the virus, for the reasons mentioned above. So I could really use some help. But please--let's don't talk about Desktop.ini not being a virus because it's system file. I know it is, and it is infected. Thank you in advance
There is a virus that creates DESKTOP.INI files, and which is commonly known as "DESKTOP.INI", but the actual DESKTOP.INI file itself is not the virus.
Having DESKTOP.INI show up in your desktop folder is not a definitive indication that you have the virus.
To be sure, run a scan with your anti-virus software.
IAlso got 2 desktop ini visable on my desktop, but only after I installed McAfee antivirus why?
I Also got 2 desktop ini visable on my desktop, but only after I installed McAfee antivirus why?
Not likely installing McAfee had anything to do with anything. If you think you have a virus, do a scan.
Ramesh Srinivasan thank you this it is very helpful for me...thanks man
« Do not uncheck "Hide protect Operating System files (recommended)". There is no reason anyone needs to see them 24/7, even a developer »
It's always risky stating authoritatively that "there's no reason". Better to assume that you're missing some information.
In this situation, I want to see hidden and system files because I don't want to switch my entire system back and forth to figure out why the OS won't let me delete directories as non-empty, when I see no files in them. If the OS wants to drop desktop.ini files everywhere, I'll get non-empty-directory warnings all the time. Sure, I can guess that it's because the OS is hiding information from me (while at the same time warning me about things it won't show), but that's a fairly poor design. Windows software is also fairly random about what is considered "system" and which files should be hidden. Add to that the fact that every application and service I install can also arbitrarily show or hide files from me, and you're going to get random fun mysteries to solve.
By the way, this is also how hidden and system files show up in version control, archives, copied directories, thumb drives (even when shared with other operating systems), and the like: the OS can hide files from you, but it doesn't hide them from archival or other programs that simply enumerate directory entries. The result is that "special" files start getting copied everywhere, and can even clobber the actual system files in the destination directories.
It's not just Windows, by the way. OS X also hides files that begin with a dot, which has also caused me huge headaches with version control systems and other directory manipulations. I disable hiding on my Mac as well for the very same reason. Taking half an hour to discover this kind of surprise is something I refuse to put up with any longer.
