{"id":59146,"date":"2023-07-08T19:13:35","date_gmt":"2023-07-08T13:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=59146"},"modified":"2023-09-07T20:05:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T14:35:13","slug":"shell-folders-appear-on-desktop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/shell-folders-appear-on-desktop\/","title":{"rendered":"Shell Folder Icons Appear on the Desktop in Windows 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

On some systems, the shell folders such as Music, Pictures, Desktop, Downloads, Videos, and Home icons appear on the desktop after installing Windows 11. These shell folders are not supposed to appear on the desktop by default.<\/p>\n

\"music,<\/p>\n

The “Delete” will be missing for those shell folders, and pressing delete on your keyboard doesn’t help. If you can’t figure out how to remove these shell folder icons, this article is for you.<\/p>\n

Remove User Shell Folders from Desktop<\/h2>\n

The specified folders are hidden from desktop by default in a standard Windows 11 installation. Here is a registry fix that hides the five special folders and the “Home” icon from the desktop.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Download hide_shell_folders_on_desktop_windows_11.reg<\/a> (zipped)<\/li>\n
  2. Unzip the archive and run the enclosed registry file. Click Yes to confirm.<\/li>\n
  3. Press F5<\/strong> to refresh the desktop. The extra shell folders should be gone now.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    INFO: Contents of the REG file<\/h4>\n
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 \r\n \r\n[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\HideDesktopIcons\\NewStartPanel] \r\n\"{1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}\"=dword:00000001\r\n\"{374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}\"=dword:00000001\r\n\"{3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}\"=dword:00000001\r\n\"{A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}\"=dword:00000001\r\n\"{A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}\"=dword:00000001\r\n\"{f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903}\"=dword:00000001\r\n\"{B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}\"=dword:00000001\r\n<\/pre>\n
    What each GUID represents.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    GUID<\/strong><\/td>\nFolder<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    {1CF1260C-4DD0-4ebb-811F-33C572699FDE}<\/td>\nMusic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    {374DE290-123F-4565-9164-39C4925E467B}<\/td>\nDownloads<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    {3ADD1653-EB32-4cb0-BBD7-DFA0ABB5ACCA}<\/td>\nPictures<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    {A0953C92-50DC-43bf-BE83-3742FED03C9C}<\/td>\nVideos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    {A8CDFF1C-4878-43be-B5FD-F8091C1C60D0}<\/td>\nDocuments<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    {f874310e-b6b7-47dc-bc84-b9e6b38f5903}<\/td>\nHome<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    {B4BFCC3A-DB2C-424C-B029-7FE99A87C641}<\/td>\nDesktop<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
    RELATED:<\/strong> How to Add the Folders Group to This PC in Windows 11<\/a><\/div>\n
    Last tested in Windows 11 22H2 OS Build 22621.1928.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
    On some systems, the shell folders such as Music, Pictures, Desktop, Downloads, Videos, and Home icons appear on the desktop after installing Windows 11. These shell folders are not supposed to appear on the desktop by default.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[869],"tags":[441,947],"class_list":["post-59146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-11","tag-registry","tag-shell-folders"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26716,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/duplicate-desktop-icons-in-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":59146,"position":0},"title":"Fix for Duplicate Desktop Icons in Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Every time when you place a file or a shortcut on your Desktop, you may get 2 identical icons. If one icon is deleted, the other icon will also be removed if you refresh the Desktop. The path for both icons would be the same. You may be wondering what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4594,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/show-hide-shell-folder-namespace-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":59146,"position":1},"title":"New Ways to Show or Hide Shell Namespace Folders in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"From Windows 2000\/XP through Windows 10, you can add custom shell folders as well as hide specific shell folders from appearing in Explorer environment or Desktop using the Registry Editor or with GPOs. There are two new ways to do exactly the same task, in Windows 10. What is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"show or hide shell namespace","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/whitelist-shell-objects-6.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/whitelist-shell-objects-6.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/whitelist-shell-objects-6.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1608,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/shell-folders-merged-music-videos-same-folder\/","url_meta":{"origin":59146,"position":2},"title":"[Fix] Music, Pictures, Videos or Downloads Folders Merged Accidentally and Point to the Same Location","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This post talks about a problem where two special folders such as Music, Pictures, Videos, or Documents get merged or combined and point to the same folder. Because the special or shell folders are merged, they show up with the same name but different icons. Additionally, restoring the default location\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"special folders merged in windows 10","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/folder-merged.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1386,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/blue-double-arrow-icon-files-folders-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":59146,"position":3},"title":"What is the Two Blue Arrows Icon on Folders in Windows 10 and How to Remove it?","author":"Ramesh","date":"December 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"After installing Windows 10, you may notice that some of your files and folders show up with a double blue arrows icon at the top. This double blue arrows overlay icon is seen if the files and folders are compressed (NTFS compression), and there is nothing to worry about. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/windows-compress-blue-arrow.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/windows-compress-blue-arrow.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/windows-compress-blue-arrow.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/windows-compress-blue-arrow.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1592,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-10-shell-folders-paths-defaults-restore\/","url_meta":{"origin":59146,"position":4},"title":"Windows 10\/11 User Shell Folders Restore Default Paths","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"This post provides you with the list of User Shell Folders in Windows 10\/11 and their default paths. If you've moved a shell folder earlier, you can restore it to the default location via the folder properties Location tab in most cases. However, there are situations where the Location tab\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"user shell folders - local machine","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/w10-11-user-shell-folders-system-registry-full.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":29400,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/add-folders-this-pc-windows-11\/","url_meta":{"origin":59146,"position":5},"title":"How to Add the Folders Group to This PC in Windows 11","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The October 18, 2022 KB5019509 update for Windows 11 introduces tab support in Explorer. However, the update also removes the \"Folders\" group in This PC. As you see in the above screenshot, only the \"Devices and drives\" section is available. In the earlier builds, the Folders group contained the links\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 11"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 11","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-11\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"add to this pc windows 11 - folders group","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/folders-6-22h2-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/folders-6-22h2-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/folders-6-22h2-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/folders-6-22h2-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}