How to Restore Unused Desktop Icons - URGENT

[George Orwell]

Hello,

By mistake I clicked "Ok" on "Remove Unused Desktop Icons" pop up window
today and 80% of the icons were automatically removed from my desktop and
placed in the "Unused Desktop Shortcuts" folder.

I already tried doing a "System Restore" to get back all the icons on my
desktop but for some unknown reason, Windows XP FAILED to restore my system
to a prior checkpoint.

Any one know how to get back all the lost icons quickly ?

Thanks in Advance

 

[jarsek]

Is there a folder with the name "Unused Desktop Shortcuts"? System restore
is a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut. If you find the folder, select
all the files and do a cut (ctrl-x) then go to your desktop and paste. It
should be that simple.

If you can't do this then find the executable for each application for which
you lost the shortcut (the .exe) then right click it and then choose "create
shortcut". Place the created shortcut on the desktop using normal
cut'n'paste or drag'n'drop whatever.

Hope this helps!

Jim

 

[Elmo]

Hello,

By mistake I clicked "Ok" on "Remove Unused Desktop Icons" pop up window
today and 80% of the icons were automatically removed from my Desktop and
placed in the "Unused Desktop Shortcuts" folder.

I already tried doing a "System Restore" to get back all the icons on my
desktop but for some unknown reason, Windows XP FAILED to restore my system
to a prior checkpoint.

Any one know how to get back all the lost icons quickly ?

Thanks in Advance

Ctrl/Z will sometimes restore deleted/moved items.

Open the folder where they were moved, press Ctrl/A to select all, click
and drag one back to the Desktop. Because you selected all, they'll be
all be moved to the Desktop.

To turn off that "feature", open Display Properties, click the Desktop
tab, click "Customize Desktop" button, deselect "Run Desktop Cleanup
Wizard every 60 days".

 

[Richard]

Hello,

By mistake I clicked "Ok" on "Remove Unused Desktop Icons" pop up window
today and 80% of the icons were automatically removed from my desktop and
placed in the "Unused Desktop Shortcuts" folder.

I already tried doing a "System Restore" to get back all the icons on my
desktop but for some unknown reason, Windows XP FAILED to restore my
system to a prior checkpoint.

Any one know how to get back all the lost icons quickly ?

Thanks in Advance

System Restore is "system" restore, not "icon" restore.

The icons are not "lost", they were, as you said, "placed in the Unused
Desktop Shortcuts folder" on your desktop. Simply open that folder,
mouse-drag whatever icons you choose out of the folder back to your desktop.

Right click on you Desktop, click Properties
Click the "Desktop" tab a top.
Click "Customize Desktop"
In the Desktop Cleanup section, un-check:
[ ] Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days
Specifies whether the Desktop Cleanup Wizard is run automatically every 60
days. The wizard enables you to remove icons from your desktop that you
haven’t used during the previous 60 days. It does not delete any programs
from your computer.

Clean Desktop Now (button)
Click to run the Desktop Cleanup Wizard. This wizard checks your desktop to
see which icons you have not used during the previous 60 days, and then lets
you decide if you want to remove them. The icons you remove are moved to a
folder, from which you can recover them at any time.

When Desktop Cleanup Wizard first appears, the message says:
This wizard helps you clean up your desktop by moving unused shortcuts to a
desktop folder called Unused Desktop Shortcuts.
The wizard does not move, change or delete any of your programs. If you
later decide that you want a shortcut back on your desktop, you can restore
it from the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder.
To continue, click Next. [Next][Cancel]
- - -
If you click Next, a 2nd window appears with a list of shortcuts with
message:
Shortcuts - The shortcuts selected below will be moved to the Unused Desktop
Shortcuts folder.
To leave a shortcut on your desktop, clear its check box.
The display has 2 columns:
Shortcut to Clean Up | Date Last Used
[Back][Next][Cancel]
- - -
After UN-SELECTING every item and clicking Next, the 3rd screen says:
Completing the Desktop Cleanup Wizard
Windows will not move any shortcuts to the Unused Desktop Shortcuts folder
on your desktop.
To close this wizard, click Finish.
[Back][Finish][Cancel]
- - -

You're welcome. --Richard