Deleting Desktop.ini from folder

[Don]

I have a folder with 3 links on my Desktop that is
titled "Games". Inside that folder are links to card
games: Microsoft Hearts, Solsuite (purchased) and
Spider (purchased). For years I've assigned a
Windows' smiley icon to that folder. Yesterday it
changed to a Folder icon and now when I change it back
to the smiley the icons include "Desktop.ini" that's
never been there before. If I delete it the main
icon bops back to the Folder icon.

How can I delete that bloody Folder icon and leave the
enclosed smiley icons as it was for years.

Thanks

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have a folder with 3 links on my Desktop that is
titled "Games". Inside that folder are links to card
games: Microsoft Hearts, Solsuite (purchased) and
Spider (purchased). For years I've assigned a
Windows' smiley icon to that folder. Yesterday it
changed to a Folder icon and now when I change it back
to the smiley the icons include "Desktop.ini" that's
never been there before. If I delete it the main
icon bops back to the Folder icon.

How can I delete that bloody Folder icon and leave the
enclosed smiley icons as it was for years.

I have a theory. Correct me if I am incorrect.

Did you recently change some settings so that you could see *hidden* files?
Specifically, changed it so you can see protected operating system files?
( http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial62.html#winxp <-- Step
8. )

Maybe (although I do not see how) you did and did not know you did. Maybe
someone else did it for you.

You should undo it - check the box in step 8 from the page above. You
*want* to hide these files. That "desktop.ini" has *always* been there. It
holds the customizations on/in that folder. You want to stop removing it.

Given what you had, now is a great time to point you to one of the easiest
ways to find information on problems you may be having and solutions
others have found:

Search using Google!
http://www.google.com/
(How-to: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html )

For example, if you did a search for:
"Windows XP" desktop.ini

You might have found this:
http://www.ofzenandcomputing.com/zanswers/797

Or if you modified the search just a bit:
"Windows XP" delete desktop.ini

You might have found this:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001060.htm
or
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/114722-45-what-desktop-files

Almost all of those search results likely would have ansered your query in a
similar way to what I have done. It is also likely that over the next few
weeks - this very posting will become available on various web pages using
those very search terms.