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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
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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 :-)
hi, may i know where i could find the option of infrared recorder cause i am unable to solve the issue.
Thank you!
Not the solution.
The issue is with Windows 7 itself. We have 4 monitors at 5 positions. At another position there are 2 monitors. The configuration never changes. Multiple user accounts on the machines with 4 monitors but only one account on the dual monitor PC. Sometimes, at random, some users have some of their icons vanish. It started happening to the single-user dual-monitor PC as well. The icons that vanish are almost always ones that each user has that are pointing to a file on a server. However, it even deletes files that are on the desktop, not just shortcuts.
Infrared Recorder has never been installed. It is something in Windows 7 that likes to delete icons and or files at random.
Windows 7 has a cleanup routine that if more than 3 desktop icons are invalid due to missing program, not connected, or for other reasons, or some such, Win 7 deletes desktop icons to clean up. This seems to happen after Saturday night whenever the PC is brought up, or just running. This is known ridiculous decision of Microsoft that they never fixed because Service Pack 2 never came out so they would not have to extend Windows 7 support expiration.
I had desktop icons missing, and did the hotfixes, and added the registry keys to prevent the two types of cleanup, and so did my friend, and all desktop icons remain now. See my previous posts in this and other threads about this. I have included one below. This is a known crazy issue you can google and find whole articles about it. Good Luck!
The solution of turning off the diagnostic was outdated years ago by a hotfix and registry update (or fixits), to only stop the icon missing problem. Turning off a possibly major function, might not be the best for everyone.
See KB2642357, and be sure to run the hotfix at the top in blue box before running the fixits, or doing the registry updates. It will send an email with the link to the hotfox, but comments in other solutions give the link if you can't wait for the email.
