desktop.ini everywhere

[Jo-Anne]

On my three Windows XP computers, I have a number of desktop.ini files. One
of them is even on the desktop itself. I Googled getting rid of these files,
but all I could find was information about hiding system files, which I
don't want to do.

At the moment, on just my netbook, there is a desktop.ini file in My
Documents, one in My Music, one in Sample Music, one in Sample Playlists,
one in Sync Playlists, one in My Pictures, and one in Sample Pictures.

Are these files necessary? If not, how should I delete them? In some cases I
want to delete the folder entirely. For example, I don't need a Sample
Pictures or Sample Music folder.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

[Alan Edwards]

They are necessary.
I respectfully suggest you leave them alone.
Please Google as to the reason you have them, rather than how you
should delete them.

....Alan

 

[Andrew McLaren]

On my three Windows XP computers, I have a number of desktop.ini files. One
of them is even on the desktop itself. I Googled getting rid of these files,
but all I could find was information about hiding system files, which I
don't want to do.

Hi Jo-Anne

These files are used by Windows Explorer, to control how the information
in each folder is displayed.

Normally, Desktop.ini files have the "Hidden" attribute turned ON; ie,
they are hidden, you don't see them. If you are seeing them in a normal
user session, you have probably selected the Folder Option to "Show
hidden files".

Unless you have a strong interest in seeing the hidden files on your
system, the best solution is to turn off the Hidden Files option.

In Explorer, go to Tools on the menu bar, Folder Options, View, and
select the option "Don't show hidden files".

The Desktop.ini files will no longer be visible.

Hope this helps,

Andrew

 

[Jose]

On my three Windows XP computers, I have a number of desktop.ini files. One
of them is even on the desktop itself. I Googled getting rid of these files,
but all I could find was information about hiding system files, which I
don't want to do.

At the moment, on just my netbook, there is a desktop.ini file in My
Documents, one in My Music, one in Sample Music, one in Sample Playlists,
one in Sync Playlists, one in My Pictures, and one in Sample Pictures.

Are these files necessary? If not, how should I delete them? In some cases I
want to delete the folder entirely. For example, I don't need a Sample
Pictures or Sample Music folder.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

It does not make sense to have a desktop.ini on your desktop (or a
thumbs.db if you have that too). It is unnecessary desktop clutter.
If you are not sure about it, drag it to the recycle bin and reboot
and see how things look. You can delete just about any folder you
want. Windows will warn you if you try to delete some folders that it
thinks are special. I don't always agree and don't have any Sample
anything folders. More unnecessary clutter. I am tidy with usually
only 6-8 desktop icons.

The desktop.ini file is normally a hidden file so you don't delete it
accidentally. If you have show hidden files enabled, you may see that
some folders have the file and some folder do not.

If you have a desktop.ini in a folder you have at some point
customized that folder view. For example, enabling thumbnail view.
You may have undone the customization later but the desktop.ini file
may be left behind.

The desktop.ini file is just a text files with parameters and values
that you can edit to see what is in them or change them. Some are
more complicated than others.

Windows will put a simple desktop.ini in certain folders for you so
you can recognize them when using Explorer. My Music, My Pictures, My
Videos, etc. If you delete or rename the desktop.ini from these
folders, the displayed icon changes back to the default folder icon.
If you customize the folder, the desktop.ini will be updated.

It would be possible for every folder to have a desktop.ini if every
folder has been somehow customized. Some folders may not have one at
all.

Folders that do not have a desktop.ini file have never been
customized. Deleting the desktop.ini will remove any customizations
from the folder and it will return to the default view.

 

[Gordon]

It does not make sense to have a desktop.ini on your desktop (or a
thumbs.db if you have that too).

And if the OP has customised the desktop, which is only a folder after all,
they WILL have a desktop.ini file, according to what you've just posted
below...

 

[Shenan Stanley]

On my three Windows XP computers, I have a number of desktop.ini
files. One of them is even on the desktop itself. I Googled getting
rid of these files, but all I could find was information about
hiding system files, which I don't want to do.

At the moment, on just my netbook, there is a desktop.ini file in My
Documents, one in My Music, one in Sample Music, one in Sample
Playlists, one in Sync Playlists, one in My Pictures, and one in
Sample Pictures.
Are these files necessary? If not, how should I delete them? In
some cases I want to delete the folder entirely. For example, I
don't need a Sample Pictures or Sample Music folder.

Turn back on the "Hide protected operating syhstem files (Recommended)"
checkbox found by (one way) opening "My Computer" and choosing "Tools" -->
"Options" --> "View" tab... Under "Advanced settings" just above 1/2 way
down. The box should be *checked*.

You've made these files visible. Although they are not needed for most
people, they aren't hurting anything and are normally hidden completely from
view. Hide them again and move on. ;-)

 

[Jo-Anne]

Thank you, Andrew. If I turn off the Hidden attribute, I suspect I still
won't be able to delete folders with the desktop.ini file in them until I
delete desktop.ini. As I mentioned to Alan, I'd like to know if it's OK to
delete that file in folders that I don't want.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

On my three Windows XP computers, I have a number of desktop.ini files.
One
of them is even on the desktop itself. I Googled getting rid of these
files,
but all I could find was information about hiding system files, which I
don't want to do.

At the moment, on just my netbook, there is a desktop.ini file in My
Documents, one in My Music, one in Sample Music, one in Sample Playlists,
one in Sync Playlists, one in My Pictures, and one in Sample Pictures.

Are these files necessary? If not, how should I delete them? In some cases
I
want to delete the folder entirely. For example, I don't need a Sample
Pictures or Sample Music folder.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

<<It does not make sense to have a desktop.ini on your desktop (or a
thumbs.db if you have that too). It is unnecessary desktop clutter.
If you are not sure about it, drag it to the recycle bin and reboot
and see how things look. You can delete just about any folder you
want. Windows will warn you if you try to delete some folders that it
thinks are special. I don't always agree and don't have any Sample
anything folders. More unnecessary clutter. I am tidy with usually
only 6-8 desktop icons.

The desktop.ini file is normally a hidden file so you don't delete it
accidentally. If you have show hidden files enabled, you may see that
some folders have the file and some folder do not.

If you have a desktop.ini in a folder you have at some point
customized that folder view. For example, enabling thumbnail view.
You may have undone the customization later but the desktop.ini file
may be left behind.

The desktop.ini file is just a text files with parameters and values
that you can edit to see what is in them or change them. Some are
more complicated than others.

Windows will put a simple desktop.ini in certain folders for you so
you can recognize them when using Explorer. My Music, My Pictures, My
Videos, etc. If you delete or rename the desktop.ini from these
folders, the displayed icon changes back to the default folder icon.
If you customize the folder, the desktop.ini will be updated.

It would be possible for every folder to have a desktop.ini if every
folder has been somehow customized. Some folders may not have one at
all.

Folders that do not have a desktop.ini file have never been
customized. Deleting the desktop.ini will remove any customizations
from the folder and it will return to the default view.>>

Thank you, Jose! So it looks like I should be able to delete desktop.ini
files at least in folders I want to get rid of--right? Would it be useful to
rename the file first to see if there is any problem rather than sending it
to the Recycle Bin right away?

Thank you also for the mention of thumbs.db. I have that file on one of my
flash drives and wondered what it was doing there.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

Turn back on the "Hide protected operating syhstem files (Recommended)"
checkbox found by (one way) opening "My Computer" and choosing "Tools" -->
"Options" --> "View" tab... Under "Advanced settings" just above 1/2 way
down. The box should be *checked*.

You've made these files visible. Although they are not needed for most
people, they aren't hurting anything and are normally hidden completely
from view. Hide them again and move on. ;-)

Thank you, Shenan! But what about getting rid of the folder that the
desktop.ini file is in? Surely there's no reason to keep, for example,
Sample Pictures and Sample Music.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

They are necessary.
I respectfully suggest you leave them alone.
Please Google as to the reason you have them, rather than how you
should delete them.

...Alan

Reposted, since original didn't show up:

Thank you, Alan--but I'd like to delete certain folders (such as Sample
Pictures and Sample Music) and can't do that unless I delete the desktop.ini
file in each one. Is it safe to delete them?

Jo-Anne

 

[Terry R.]

On 3/9/2010 10:17 AM On a whim, Jo-Anne pounded out on the keyboard

<<It does not make sense to have a desktop.ini on your desktop (or a
thumbs.db if you have that too). It is unnecessary desktop clutter.
If you are not sure about it, drag it to the recycle bin and reboot
and see how things look. You can delete just about any folder you
want. Windows will warn you if you try to delete some folders that it
thinks are special. I don't always agree and don't have any Sample
anything folders. More unnecessary clutter. I am tidy with usually
only 6-8 desktop icons.

The desktop.ini file is normally a hidden file so you don't delete it
accidentally. If you have show hidden files enabled, you may see that
some folders have the file and some folder do not.

If you have a desktop.ini in a folder you have at some point
customized that folder view. For example, enabling thumbnail view.
You may have undone the customization later but the desktop.ini file
may be left behind.

The desktop.ini file is just a text files with parameters and values
that you can edit to see what is in them or change them. Some are
more complicated than others.

Windows will put a simple desktop.ini in certain folders for you so
you can recognize them when using Explorer. My Music, My Pictures, My
Videos, etc. If you delete or rename the desktop.ini from these
folders, the displayed icon changes back to the default folder icon.
If you customize the folder, the desktop.ini will be updated.

It would be possible for every folder to have a desktop.ini if every
folder has been somehow customized. Some folders may not have one at
all.

Folders that do not have a desktop.ini file have never been
customized. Deleting the desktop.ini will remove any customizations
from the folder and it will return to the default view.>>

Thank you, Jose! So it looks like I should be able to delete desktop.ini
files at least in folders I want to get rid of--right? Would it be useful to
rename the file first to see if there is any problem rather than sending it
to the Recycle Bin right away?

Thank you also for the mention of thumbs.db. I have that file on one of my
flash drives and wondered what it was doing there.

Jo-Anne

Hi Jo-Anne,

If you have any folders that you have set to show Thumbnails, the
thumbs.db is created. You can delete it if you want, since if you
choose to view the folder using Thumbnails at another time, it will be
recreated.

Like others have said, you can delete desktop.ini if you don't care if
the layout of the folder is saved, like any backgrounds you may have
applied or folder icons, etc..


Terry R.

 

[Terry R.]

On 3/9/2010 10:19 AM On a whim, Jo-Anne pounded out on the keyboard

Thank you, Shenan! But what about getting rid of the folder that the
desktop.ini file is in? Surely there's no reason to keep, for example,
Sample Pictures and Sample Music.

Jo-Anne

You can delete them also.


Terry R.

 

[Jo-Anne]

Hi Jo-Anne,

If you have any folders that you have set to show Thumbnails, the
thumbs.db is created. You can delete it if you want, since if you choose
to view the folder using Thumbnails at another time, it will be recreated.

Like others have said, you can delete desktop.ini if you don't care if the
layout of the folder is saved, like any backgrounds you may have applied
or folder icons, etc..


Terry R.

Thank you, Terry! I'll go ahead and delete them--one at a time--to see what,
if anything, changes.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

You can delete them also.


Terry R.

Thank you, Terry! Will do!

Jo-Anne

 

[Jose]

<<It does not make sense to have a desktop.ini on your desktop (or a
thumbs.db if you have that too).  It is unnecessary desktop clutter.
If you are not sure about it, drag it to the recycle bin and reboot
and see how things look.  You can delete just about any folder you
want.  Windows will warn you if you try to delete some folders that it
thinks are special.  I don't always agree and don't have any Sample
anything folders.  More unnecessary clutter.  I am tidy with usually
only 6-8 desktop icons.

The desktop.ini file is normally a hidden file so you don't delete it
accidentally.  If you have show hidden files enabled, you may see that
some folders have the file and some folder do not.

If you have a desktop.ini in a folder you have at some point
customized that folder view.  For example, enabling thumbnail view.
You may have undone the customization later but the desktop.ini file
may be left behind.

The desktop.ini file is just a text files with parameters and values
that you can edit to see what is in them or change them.  Some are
more complicated than others.

Windows will put a simple desktop.ini in certain folders for you so
you can recognize them when using Explorer.  My Music, My Pictures, My
Videos, etc.  If you delete or rename the desktop.ini from these
folders, the displayed icon changes back to the default folder icon.
If you customize the folder, the desktop.ini will be updated.

It would be possible for every folder to have a desktop.ini if every
folder has been somehow customized.  Some folders may not have one at
all.

Folders that do not have a desktop.ini file have never been
customized.  Deleting the desktop.ini will remove any customizations
from the folder and it will return to the default view.>>

Thank you, Jose! So it looks like I should be able to delete desktop.ini
files at least in folders I want to get rid of--right? Would it be usefulto
rename the file first to see if there is any problem rather than sending it
to the Recycle Bin right away?

Thank you also for the mention of thumbs.db. I have that file on one of my
flash drives and wondered what it was doing there.

Jo-Anne

Of course you have a thumbs.db in some folders and maybe on your
desktop. Delete the desktop ones at least, they do not make sense and
to me it is poor housekeeping.

Neither are required for normal operation.

If the files do not exist, you get default views - that is the way
most folders start. The My... folders have one built in, but it is
not required. You can delete or ignore a lot of the folders XP
creates for your user accounts, if you are not allowed, XP will
complain. I don't have any of that junk on my system.

Depending on what you have done when viewing the folders and their
contents, if you rename or delete the .ini or .db files and change the
views again, a new one will be created if appropriate.

I like to have hidden files and show extensions enabled too. It shows
more stuff that might not make sense to some people but it makes sense
to me. They are disabled "for your own good". Silly Microsoft.

If you are not sure, rename, reboot, test and then decide what to do
without wondering if things are okay.

 

[Terry R.]

On 3/9/2010 12:44 PM On a whim, Jo-Anne pounded out on the keyboard

Thank you, Terry! Will do!

Jo-Anne

You're welcome Jo-Anne.


Terry R.

 

[Jo-Anne]

Thank you, Jose! So it looks like I should be able to delete desktop.ini
files at least in folders I want to get rid of--right? Would it be useful
to
rename the file first to see if there is any problem rather than sending
it
to the Recycle Bin right away?

Thank you also for the mention of thumbs.db. I have that file on one of my
flash drives and wondered what it was doing there.

Jo-Anne

<<Of course you have a thumbs.db in some folders and maybe on your
desktop. Delete the desktop ones at least, they do not make sense and
to me it is poor housekeeping.

Neither are required for normal operation.

If the files do not exist, you get default views - that is the way
most folders start. The My... folders have one built in, but it is
not required. You can delete or ignore a lot of the folders XP
creates for your user accounts, if you are not allowed, XP will
complain. I don't have any of that junk on my system.

Depending on what you have done when viewing the folders and their
contents, if you rename or delete the .ini or .db files and change the
views again, a new one will be created if appropriate.

I like to have hidden files and show extensions enabled too. It shows
more stuff that might not make sense to some people but it makes sense
to me. They are disabled "for your own good". Silly Microsoft.

If you are not sure, rename, reboot, test and then decide what to do
without wondering if things are okay.>>


Thank you again, Jose! I deleted the desktop.ini files from all the My
Documents folders and subfolders on my netbook, rebooted, and everything
looks fine. Now I'll work on my two other computers.

Jo-Anne

 

[Lem]

Reposted, since original didn't show up:

Thank you, Alan--but I'd like to delete certain folders (such as Sample
Pictures and Sample Music) and can't do that unless I delete the desktop.ini
file in each one. Is it safe to delete them?

Jo-Anne

If you had followed Alan's suggestion, you would have found that
desktop.ini is a Windows XP system file that stores information about
customized folders. If you have customized the display of a folder in
any way, such as changing its icon or manner of display, Windows has
saved those settings in a desktop.ini file.

If you're curious, you can look at the contents of a desktop.ini file
using Notepad.

If you're going to delete a folder, then you obviously don't care about
any customizations relating to that folder. So yes, go ahead and delete
the desktop.ini files in any folders that you are about to delete.

 

[Jo-Anne]

If you had followed Alan's suggestion, you would have found that
desktop.ini is a Windows XP system file that stores information about
customized folders. If you have customized the display of a folder in any
way, such as changing its icon or manner of display, Windows has saved
those settings in a desktop.ini file.

If you're curious, you can look at the contents of a desktop.ini file
using Notepad.

If you're going to delete a folder, then you obviously don't care about
any customizations relating to that folder. So yes, go ahead and delete
the desktop.ini files in any folders that you are about to delete.
--
Lem

Apollo 11 - 40 years ago:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/40th/index.html

Thank you, Lem! I first deleted the desktop.ini files in several
folders--with no discernible effect. Then I deleted the folders I no longer
wanted. So far so good.

Jo-Anne