Desktop icons, not displaying properly

Covah · 01 Jul 2011

I recently reinstalled Windows 7 and I copied my old appdata folder. I do not know if this is what is causing the issue, as it was causing invisible icons to be pinned to my start menu.

Anyways, my current problem is, when I choose to display my desktop toolbar on the task bar, the toolbar displays my current desktop shortcuts, the sub folders you see when you view the window (ie, libraries, homegroup, network, computer, control panel, user folder, recycle bin) and icons that are not displayed elsewhere, such as a second control panel.

What could be the problem and how would I stop the sub folders and second control panel from displaying?

I have tried to remove the icons from the desktop folder, but they do not have an option to be removed. I have tried deleting them from the task bar toolbar itself, but it acts as if it deleted it, but they do not go away.

I have been doing searches, but I cannot find anything that has helped.

Thank you,
Covah

Additional query added.
Would there be a reason why my mru in my run command box isn't being retained? I do not have any cleaning software. I do have MS Essentials and Norton Ghost though.

Seeliewight · 02 Jul 2011

My guess is: the culprit is the copied AppData folder.

Typically, you would do a fresh install of Windows, and then reinstall your applications. Copying the AppData would lead to inconsistencies, which is what I suspect is occurring. I would recommend doing a clean install, NOT copying anything over, and installing your applications. What you can copy is your user data (Documents, Music, Pictures, etc. - not the users directory).

Covah · 03 Jul 2011

Thank you for your response. I agree this is most likely the cause, I was hoping it wasn't. Having my app data folder copied over, saved me a ton of time with settings and the like.

Oddly enough though, when I copied it over, it appeared to stop my Office 2010 problem that I was having after reinstall. As well as broken software issues from my second partition, when I would attempt to run something.

I do not know which is a better trade off. :-\

For instance, my Netbeans software stopped loading, until I copied over my old appdata folder.

MvdB · 04 Jul 2011

mmm... If I interpret correctly, there is a much easier way:

Have you tried a forced resetting of the icon cache....

Icon Cache - Rebuild

Quote:
3. Reset Desktop icon cache
===================
a. Click Start, and open Computer.
b. On the Tool bar, click Organize and choose Folder and Search Options.
c. Click the View tab, and check to select the Show hidden files and folders option, and click OK.
d. Then, enter the following directory:
*
C:\Users\(User Name)\AppData\Local
*
e. Find the IconCache.db file, and rename it as IconCache.db.old.
f. Close the window, and restart the computer.
*