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I had someone in the chat room ask me how to restore the Show Desktop icon they had deleted from their Quick Launch bar. I did a quick Google and suggested a page at Lockergnome that describes a procedure that worked in Windows XP, but they said they had tried it and not only did the icon not come back properly, it didn’t function correctly either. I browsed around a bit and found a way to not only restore the functionality, but the icon as well, and it’s easy!
- If you’re system folders are still hidden (they are by default) then you’re going to need to ‘unhide’ them. See tip 11 which will walk you through that easy process. You can reverse those steps once you’re done with this tip to ‘re-hide’ them if you wish.
- Open Computer from the Start menu and go to the following location:
C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
- Inside that folder, you’ll see two files:
- Show Desktop
- Switch Between Windows
- Right-click the Show Desktop file and from the menu choose Copy.
- Now, backup a few folder levels (use the left facing blue arrow) until you’re in the
C:\Usersfolder. If you are the only user of this computer, you’ll see three folders there, one called Default, one called Public, and the other with your logon name.
- Open your folder, and then navigate to:
AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
- Right-click on any blank space in that window, and choose Paste from the menu.
- Look at your Quick Launch bar, you’re Show Desktop icon is back!
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Comments
Brink
Jun 21, 2007 at 3:31 pm
Here’s another way to do it at this link.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/70009-show-desktop.html
Joe
Jun 21, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Thanks, the more the merrier!
Joby
Aug 4, 2007 at 8:04 am
Okay here’s a much easier way..
Open Start Menu
Search for:
C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
Then Open The Quick Launch Folder.
Right Click On “Show Desktop”
Click Create Shortcut, Windows Will Ask You If You Want To Place it On Your Desktop
Click “Yes” Then Go To Your Desktop
Drag The “Show Desktop” Shortcut To Where The Quick Launch Icons Are. Then Get Rid of The “Show Desktop” Icon From Your Desktop.
DONE. YOUR ICON IS BACK!
drdolittle
Jan 21, 2008 at 2:30 am
what if this location {C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch} doesnt open i.e. if i have already deleted folders in appdata or cache ?
please help?
KzF
Jan 26, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Thanks a lot for the guide =D I have another problem..the vista im currently using is Chinese Traditional…I want to change it back to English…can someone help me plz? If you can just e-mail me! - kazafzrox@hotmail.com
figrenumberfive
Mar 3, 2008 at 9:18 pm
thank you, i didnt realise how handy that icon is untill i accidentally deleted it.
Balakrishnan
Mar 30, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Brink, your ref website is really good. Thanks a lot.
Brink
Mar 30, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Your welcome Balakrishnan. I’m glad that you like it. We all try to help each other.
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