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I created several icons on the desktops of 4 computers after clean installed the computers with Windows 7 Profession (either with 32 bit or 64 bit versions). After a few days, some of the desktop icons disappear. However, when I click on the Desktop toolbar at the bottom of the Windows desktop, the icons that disappeared from the desktop were still present and available in the Desktop toolbar listing. I saw many users have the similar problem on the Internet but no proper solution for the problem. Any suggestion for the fix.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
There is an issue with an application called InfraRecorder, this is a CD\DVD recording software. When you install this software the Windows option to Show Desktop Icons is unselected. To Fix this just turn that option back on. To turn the option back on , do this:
I hope this helps.
Kevin
If you find that my answer was what you were looking for, please remember to click the "mark as answer" box below!
Hi guys,
I found the cause of the misteriously disappearing Windows 7 desktop icons and the reason why Show desktop icons now and then gets unchecked.
It's INFRARECORDER !! Try for yourselves, when you start Infrarecorder and close it again, go have a look at "Show desktop icons", it is unchecked (but the icons are still there). Check it on again and start Infrarecorder.... it is unchecked again.
This Windows 7 "bug" is irritating me since the beginning and now I found the cause: It's Infrarecorder which is causing this problem.
Test it and please let me know and spread the news :-)
I found the reason ...It is a problem where the computer thinks that you have two monitorsand the icons are on the displaying on the invisible monitor ... in my case the computer had both the VGA and the Digital VGA cables connected to the same monitor causing the windows 7 program to think that there were two separate monitors when there was only one. Disconnecting one of the cables caused all my icons to reappear. I hope this helps.
Your monitor-unplugging fix totally makes sense, Joey... too bad I missed your suggestion, the first time I read thru.
Note the similar fix, that I discovered tonight:
right-clicking the desktop,
selecting "Screen resolution",
clicking on the picture for the 2nd monitor, and
*DRAGGING THE 2ND MONITOR* to another position.
In my case, I dragged it from being TO-THE-RIGHT of the laptop monitor (where it is at work),
to being ABOVE the laptop monitor (where it is at home).
And then... all the desktop icons reappeared on the primary monitor!
Good luck,
-- Doug
I was pleased to see that Infrarecorder cannot be responsible for the disappearing icons, which bears out what I have said from the beginning. However, although it locks out one possible cause, it does not help with the underlying real cause. Some have mentioned that they thought that the icons hid themselves away on a dual screen, but again, this is not possible on my computer because since new (January 2012) it has never had another monitor attached or programmed in.
Has anyone else got any bright ideas? I repeat that it would be nice if Microsoft could get involved in this, and since they know the software through and through, they should be able to track this problem down and come up with a fix. What do we have to do to get them to act?
The fix worked perfectly, and since I have installed InfraRecorder, that likely was the culprit.
Thanks!
-Keith
