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?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

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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
    2013-10-07T16:33:49+00:00

    Thanks so much to Dale. I tried everything, but this finally worked. Why does MS force the Homegroup on the user?????? It makes me very angry to have to waste time on editing the registry when a simple Delete would do!!!!!

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-10-01T22:48:38+00:00

    Thank you!  Much better than messing around in the registry!  : )

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-09-28T23:56:51+00:00

    I had that icon appear on my desktop this morning and it was not a shortcut. It opened providing an alphanumeric code for other devices to access my network which I did not create or request. Just out of curiosity I updated & ran Malwarebytes in quick scan mode and it found malware. After researching the company found and the file it claimed to be, I went ahead and quarantined it. Never did I know it had anything to do with the mysterious appearing Homegroup icon, but it's gone from my desktop now. Point being you might be hiding malware....just a thought, run the scan and see !!

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-09-23T07:29:38+00:00

    Thanks for these easy steps to get rid of the homegroup icon from my desktop!  =D 

    Easy enough to type in 'folder options' into the start menu and un-check then re-check!

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