Unable to remove Homegroup Icon

Anonymous
2010-04-11T18:26:47+00:00

original title: Homegroup Icon

The HOMEGROUP Icon suddenly appeared on my desktop. I can't move it. I don't want it there. Can I get rid of the icon without disturbing the HOMEGROUP file?

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Anonymous
2010-04-12T10:31:57+00:00

Hi Halnormank,

You may follow the link given below and follow the suggestion by ‘Dale’ to remove the folder from the registry.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproui/thread/366b1b5d-e177-46be-84d1-9a7864a2725b

Below are the steps from the same link for your convenience.

Important: This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following link. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Back-up-the-registry

  1. Press Win + R to open a run box.
  2. Type: regedit and hint Enter.
  3. Navigate to:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\

  1. Find a folder (key) with the name {B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93} , this is the registry entry Homegroup icon. Delete the folder from the registry.
  2. Press F5 to refresh the desktop and see if the icon disappears.

Hope this information is helpful.

Amrita M

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-08-20T20:50:01+00:00

    Doc-OS et. al.,

    My Sharing Wizard too is already unchecked (I prefer it that way.)  I did the "opposite of what reminore suggested (i.e. rechecked and then unchecked again).  This also fixed the problem for me.  

    Anthony

    Hi Reminore and Amrita,

    The Sharing Wizard is already off in my Folder Options, so that tip doesn't work. I have however noticed that the homegroup icon disappears by itself after a random # of days. It then re-appears after doing some updates. It would not be such a pain if it was movable,but it locks itself to the screen. I do have a homegroup and filesharing is turned on for ONE of my folders, but NOT by using the wizard.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-01-12T00:58:14+00:00

    Well, that did work just fine...curious to see if it stays off after a reboot:)

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-01-04T09:06:34+00:00

    Hi, I too just had the same issue the the Homegroup icon suddenly appearing on my desktop. I did find a suggestion to right-click the desktop and select "personalise", then select "change desktop icons". The homegroup icon would not be displayed, but it was suggested to unselect "recycle", then "apply" and then reselect. This didn't work (and didn't make any sense anyway). So instead I checked "user's files" and applied. I found that the homegroup icon was replaced by my home folder (which had my name on it). I then repeated the process, but unchecked the "user's files" and applied. Low and behold, the icon disappeared from my desktop completely. I hope this made sense and is useful for others.

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-10-26T16:39:34+00:00

    I have just started having the same problem described in this thread.  After a recent Windows update, the Homegroup icon is now stuck on my desktop.   It's like playing whack-a-mole.  I've tried a few suggestions I've found various places.  Sometimes it seems to work and then....the icon is back.

    I'm running Win 7 Pro (x64) SP1.  I use Workgroup for my home LAN, not homegroup.

    I've deleted the registry key described in the answer above. No change.

    Folder Options > view....no difference.

    What I have found that works, but only tempoarrily, is going to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services and stopping HomeGroup Provider.  That elimiates the desktop icon.  The trouble is that even though in Services "Startup Type" is shown as manual, something keeps restarting the HomeGroup Provider service  and the icon is back.

    If anyone has any further suggestions I'd still like to eliminate this minor annoyance.

    edit: I just tried setting HomeGroup Provider Startup Type to Disabled.  The icon is gone. I'll report back if it stays gone, or if I wind up having to whack at yet another mole.

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