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
    2013-11-27T15:40:27+00:00

    This problem has been particularly bad with Windows 8.1.

    Nothing is a permanent fix.

    F5 refresh on the desktop does indeed make the HomeGroup Icon go away, but it comes back on its own a couple of reboots later.

    Checking and unchecking the "Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended)" did absolutely nothing for me on Windows 8.1 64-bit.

    As stated in another article, I tried many other things with no success.

    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-networking/why-cant-i-move-or-delete-the-home-group-icon-that/c5c28970-e98e-4f0c-8bcf-cfaac8da8e60

    Leaving the HomeGroup isn't an option for me, because I have a HomeGroup and want to be part of the HomeGroup.

    My recent attempt is to edit the registry at

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

    and remove the

    {B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}

    folder or key.

    So far, so good, but the night is still young.

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-11-27T01:33:57+00:00

    Interesting... on my Windows 8 PC, all I had to do was refresh the desktop.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-11-26T06:05:52+00:00

    Thanks a million.  This works for win 8.1/64b too.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-11-10T23:15:06+00:00

    Worked Perfectly thanks

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