How to Fix ‘Desktop Icon Disappearing on Windows 10’ Issue in 2023

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Check How to Fix ‘Desktop Icon Disappearing on Windows 10’ Issue

If the Windows 10 desktop icons are out of place, there may be a problem with the icon settings or with the main Windows system. Problems like these often have no obvious reason, and that makes them troublesome to fix. However, for the missing desktop icons problem, there are some standard solutions that you can try and hopefully solve the problem on your computer.

Steps to fix missing or missing desktop icons

There may be multiple sources of your desktop icons disappearing, however that also means that various fixes can be applied to get them back. Our article focuses on providing you with the most reliable and proven methods, allowing you to efficiently troubleshoot this problem.

Let’s not waste time and hands on work!

Solution 1: turn on the visibility of desktop icons

The visibility settings for your desktop icons may have been turned off, causing them to disappear. This can be human error or caused by an application that you recently used or installed. You can easily turn it back on by following the steps below.

1. Right click on an empty space on your desktop.
2. Click the “View” option from the context menu to expand the options.
3. Make sure “Show desktop icons” is checked. If not, just click on it once to make sure it’s not causing problems by displaying your desktop icons.
4. You should immediately see your icons reappear. If it doesn’t, continue with our next methods.

Solution 2: disable tablet mode

Users have reported that having Tablet mode enabled can cause errors with the display of desktop icons. This mode is intended to help touch devices work, however it can cause unwanted changes for many people.

Below are the steps on how to easily disable tablet mode in Windows 10.

1. Open the Start menu by clicking the Windows icon in the lower left corner of your screen. You can also press this key on your keyboard to open the menu.
2. Click Settings on the left side of the pop-up menu. It is indicated by a gear icon. For faster access, just use the Windows keyboard shortcut + S.
3. You will see a new window showing many system options. Click on the System tile.
4. Use the panel on the left side to switch to the “Tablet Mode” tab.
5. Depending on what you see on the screen, follow the instructions below:
   • If you see the “Make Windows more touch-friendly using your device as a tablet” option, make sure the switch is off.
   • Otherwise, change the tablet mode setting to “When I log in, use desktop mode” and “Always ask me before switching”.
6. Restart your computer and check if your desktop icons are back.

Solution 3: use command prompt to rebuild your icon cache

The command prompt allows you to reach a deeper level of system settings, making it easier to restore settings. All you have to do is follow the steps below – make sure you don’t make any other changes as entering commands poorly can cause more problems on your device.

Simply rebuilding your icon cache may be the right thing to do if your desktop icons disappeared. This will ensure that Windows 10 has a clean canvas to render your icons, restoring any previous problems with cache files.

1. Press the Windows + R keys on the on-screen keyboard. This will open the Run utility.
2. Type “cmd” and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard. By doing this, you are starting the command prompt with administrative permissions.
3. If prompted, click Yes to allow the command prompt to make changes to your device.
4. Enter the following commands, pressing the Enter key between each new line. This will restore your icon cache step by step.
5. Restart your device. You should be able to immediately check whether or not your desktop icons reappeared.

Solution 4: Run the System File Checker

The System File Checker is a tool available in Windows 10 by default. Also called “SFC scan”, it is the fastest way to automatically repair corrupted system files and other problems.

Running this scan has been shown to eliminate problems with missing Windows 10 icons. This is what you need to do to run it.

1. Press Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This will open the Run utility.
2. Type “cmd” and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard. By doing this, you are starting the command prompt with administrative permissions.
3. If prompted, click Yes to allow the command prompt to make changes to your device.
4. Once at the command prompt, type the following command and hit Enter to run it: sfc / scannow
5. Wait for the SFC scan to finish scanning your computer and repairing the corrupted files. This can take a long time; be sure not to close the command prompt or shut down your computer.
6. Restart your device after the scan is complete.

Solution 5: update Windows 10 to the latest version

Updating to the latest version of Windows 10 can restore some system problems on your device. Many users report that an update was able to resolve known bugs and also brings you exciting new features, patches for security flaws, and much more.

Here are the steps that will guide you when updating Windows 10.

1. Click on the Start menu and select “Settings.” Alternatively, you can also use Windows keyboard shortcut + I.
2. Click on the “Update & Security” tile.
3. Make sure to stay on the default “Windows Update” tab.
4. Click the “Check for updates” button.
5. When an update is found, click the “Install” button and wait for Windows 10 to download and apply the update.

Solution 6: restart your Windows 10

While this is the least desirable option, it can certainly help when it comes to serious system problems. Many users resort to resetting Windows 10 in an attempt to get a clean boot and fix complicated problems that would otherwise require hours and hours of troubleshooting.

Here are the steps to reset Windows 10. You have the option of keeping all your personal data, but you can also choose to completely erase all data and start a new system.

1. Click on the Start menu and select “Settings.” Alternatively, you can also use Windows keyboard shortcut + I.
2. Click on the “Update & Security” tile.
3. Switch to the “Recovery” tab.
4. You should see a header that says “Reset this PC”. Just click the “Get Started” button below it.
5. Choose whether you want to keep personal files or not. Both of these options mean your apps will be removed, but you can easily keep personal documents safe.
6. Continue with the onscreen prompts and restart your PC.

We hope this guide was helpful in restoring missing or disappeared desktop icons in Windows 10. You should have quick and easy access to your most important shortcuts and folders again.

Final remarks: How to Fix ‘Desktop Icon Disappearing on Windows 10’ Issue

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