The first video demonstrates the problem. The second video (and the text below it) should be a work around to this Windows 7 Operating System flaw. Please post a screenshot that shows how you set the GPO. Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums
That certainly looks correct.
1) Please set that GPO back to Not Configured and "OK" your way out of that screen.
2) Restart the computer.
3) Make a copy of the shortcuts that go away.
(Put the copies into a folder on the desktop.)
4) Start the scheduled task that I show in that second video.
(Start > right click on Computer - select Manage.)
5) Close and reopen the Microsoft Management Console that you used to start the scheduled task.
6) Check that the scheduled task is no longer running.
(If it is still running, repeat step 5 until it is no longer running.)
Did the shortcuts that were directly on the desktop go away?
I'll try to do what you suggest tomorrow. Did I do something wrong? Thank you.............
No; you did nothing wrong.
The goal of those steps is make sure that the System Maintenance Troubleshooter is causing some of your desktop shortcuts to go away. If they do not go away, then we are wasting our time changing how the System Maintenance Troubleshooter runs. If they do go away, then I'll do some testing on my end to make sure that the info that I posted on 27 Aug 2013 (post #1 above) is still valid after current OS updates are applied.
Thanks again for the help. The time it takes for those specific icons to disappear varies - but it is usually a few days (I've never kept count). I'll reply at the end of the week whether or not they disappeared. Thank you........
By default, there is a scheduled task that automatically runs the System Maintenance Troubleshooter each Sunday at 1am. If the computer is off or asleep at that time, the task should run when it can.
There is a chance that some other app is removing these shortcuts for you. If we wait for these specific desktop shortcuts/icons go away on their own (automatically), we still will not know what app removed them.
It is best to try and force them to be deleted while you are watching. To do that, manually run the scheduled task by following the steps in post #12.
If I understand correctly, this issue has been addressed by Microsoft, which issued a hotfix and directions to turn off only shortcut destruction. It can be found here (at least as of today):
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2642357
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