Desktop shortcuts to items on network drives sometimes disappear from desktop

Anonymous
2009-10-05T10:31:59+00:00

I have a number of shortcut icons on my Windows 7 (RC1) desktop to networked items - some are folders on a NAS, some are mapped as drives, etc. However, sometimes Windows 7 seems to simply remove all of them without notice and I have to recreate all the shortcuts to my NAS items again.

I wondered at first if this may have been because Windows would sometimes boot before all of my network devices became available, but when that happens it just correctly marks the icons with a red cross to indicate that it couldn't find them at boot time, and as soon as the NAS is available then the shortcuts work fine.

However at random intervals, all seven of these shortcuts simply disappear from the desktop. All other shortcuts and icons are fine, and the mapped drives are still present in my 'Computer' display - it's just the NAS-related shortcuts on the desktop which vanish.

Any idea why this might be happening?

Andre

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

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Anonymous
2009-11-02T19:48:31+00:00

If you create desktop shortcuts to removable storage places such as NAS the icons will disappear from time to time because Windows 7 has a built in task schedule to clean up broken and unused links. 

To prevent the task from running you need to disable the task in the task schedular: start-programs-accessories-system tools-task scheduler

Expand the tree in the left hand pane until you get to Task Scheduler Library-Microsoft-Windows-Diagnosis.

In the right hand pane, right click the task named Scheduled and click Disable.

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Anonymous
2015-04-30T16:17:45+00:00

This feature is extremely annoying.  Whenever I take my work laptop on the road, this has happens and I never knew why until now.  In my case, when the shortcuts to my network folders and applications disappeared, there was no trace left, not in my computer or anywhere.  And trying to figure out how to remap them all was a nightmare!!!  Productivity lost, headaches, etc...  thanks MS!

Fortunately, I found a way to get them back!   Check this out:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_7-desktop/how-to-restore-desktop-shortcuts/0cfe39d3-16c7-49c3-b538-6d5a3f5b6abe/

After doing the copy from previous versions, I was able to find the missing shortcuts and drag them from the 'Desktop Temp' folder to my desktop.  Thank God.

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  1. Anonymous
    2012-06-11T15:14:45+00:00

    A lot of mention for disabling the task...  That would work but it is heavy handed... it removes all of the diagnostic/repair work, beyond the broken-broken link issue.

    Granted the solution I mentioned several posts back where you modify the broken link count in the files that execute in the task is more complicated than my father could handle (don't forget you need to change their file permissions first)

    By far the simplest solution is to not leave icons on your desktop. Here's an easy way to do that:  Create a new folder on your desktop and put the shortcuts in there...  If  you still need quick access to those icons, you can right-click on your start-bar and create a new toolbar that points to your nifty new desktop folder.

    Hard to bother reading through all the posts here and mixed messages on what to do. Three solutions proposed for those jumping in.

    1. Move shortcuts to desktop folder (proposed above)
    2. Disable the Scheduled Task either manually or via AD Policy (Not favored by me)
    3. Modify the task execution files (complicated, look for my previous posts)

    Good luck!

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-06-11T14:41:42+00:00

    Yep this is common when using Windows 7 on a domain based network with links to network shares. Spikes in the network cause the OS to think that the destination no longer exists -  so windows then 'cleans' the supposedly dead short cuts.

    Here is the work around and fix that I used myself:

    Windows 7 Shortcuts disappear

    I Hope this helps.

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  3. Anonymous
    2012-06-03T17:35:32+00:00

    If you create desktop shortcuts to removable storage places such as NAS the icons will disappear from time to time because Windows 7 has a built in task schedule to clean up broken and unused links. 

    To prevent the task from running you need to disable the task in the task schedular: start-programs-accessories-system tools-task scheduler

    Expand the tree in the left hand pane until you get to Task Scheduler Library-Microsoft-Windows-Diagnosis.

    In the right hand pane, right click the task named Scheduled and click Disable.

    Thank you,

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