Unable to remove Homegroup Icon

Normally I would agree that posting to a 4+ year old thread is not a good idea, but this is the first time I've ever seen a 17 page thread with continuous activity over 4+ years.

I just posted this question on the 8.1 Partner forum with a reference to this thread, which I discovered today when a client had the same problem originally posted 4+ years ago - HomeGroup icon showed up on the desktop, this time a domain-joined 8.1 workstation that went out to lunch and had to be rebooted by the power button.  I solved the problem for that client by the suggested bounce the Use Sharing Wizard option.

One might hope that someone at Microsoft would have noticed 17 pages of continuous activity and corrected it in Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1.  Maybe Windows 10?  Or due to the fact that it happens rarely and is not reproducible don't bother with it?

I know this way is MUCH too simple for these tech wizards but:

This icon isn't really about the home group. It is part of Microsoft's "Fix It" toolkit. And, if you double click it you will find that what it DOES is ask if you are trying to create or join a home group. Click "cancel" and close the program. The icon will have magically disappeared from your desk top.

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\

4. 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.
5. 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 Forumand let us know what you think.

Or, you could just run it and when it asks if you are trying to create or join a home group click "cancel" and the icon will disappear.

Hello, HeidiSeville.  This worked like a charm!  Many, many thanks!