Show This PC on desktop Windows 10 registry

If you are missing “My Computer” or “This PC” Desktop Icon on your computer, you will find below the steps Add This PC to Desktop on your Windows 10 computer.

Add This PC to Desktop in Windows 10

Adding “This PC” icon to Desktop provides quick access to Hard Disk, Storage Drives, Network Locations and major folders on your computer like Documents, Downloads, Photos, Music, Photos and Videos.

The option to customize Desktop Icons is located in Windows 10 Settings and the quickest way to access this option is to right-click and select the Personalize option.

1. Right-click on the Desktop and select Personalize option in the contextual menu.

2. On Personalization screen, select Themes in the left-pane. In the right-pane, click on Desktop Icon Settings link, located under “Related Settings” section.

3. On the next screen, check the little box next to Computer and click on Apply and OK to save this setting on your computer.

Note: You can rename This PC to My Computer by right-clicking on the This PC icon.

Similarly, you can Add Recycle Bin, Control Panel and other Icons to Desktop.

1. Rename “This PC” Desktop Icon as “My Computer”

If you have been using Windows for a while, you must be knowing that “This PC” icon was popularly known as “My Computer” in older versions of Windows.

If you liked the earlier name, you can Rename “This PC” as “My Computer” by right-clicking on This PC and selecting the Rename option in the contextual menu.

Similarly, you can Rename Other Desktop icons and provide your own unique names to all Desktop Icons on your computer.

2. Show or Hide Desktop Icons

At any time, you can quickly Show or Hide All Desktop Icons on your computer by right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Show Desktop Icons and Hide Desktop Icons option.

3. Pin “This PC” to Start Menu

If the Desktop on your computer is cluttered, you can “This PC” Icon to start menu by right-clicking on This PC and selecting Pin to Start option in the contextual menu.

This allows you to access “This PC” in the start menu by clicking on the Start button.

Similarly, you can pin other Desktop icons to the start menu and they will remain in Start Menu even if you remove them from desktop.

CindyP-0481 asked • Jan 8, '21 | StriveSun-MSFT edited • Jan 11, '21

I am trying to create a registry group policy to Show desktop icons in Windows 10. I want the Computer and Users Files to show on the desktop.I have accomplished the Computer and Users Files through a global group policy but the "Computer" Icon has "This PC" under it.I would like it to show Computer Name/host under it. There is an option in the registry to make this change.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

find a REG_EXPAND_SZ string value names ‘LocalizedString’ and change its value data to:

Computer %computername%

Now you should see the machine name under ‘My Computer’ icon.This works but you have to change permissions from trusted installer to local administrators.So the question is, Is there a different way. Or a way to make the Global Policy change this entry. I want this on all of the computers in my domain.Thanks,

Cindy

Comment

I don’t know about you, but I really preferred having the My Computer icon right on the desktop. Seems like modern versions of windows don’t have it by default anymore. There are two different ways you can add the icon back.

In Windows 10 the My Computer icon is called “This PC” and it’s pretty easy to add back. Keep reading for Windows 7, 8, and Vista instructions below.

Add the My Computer Icon to the Windows 10 Desktop

If you want to add Computer, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, or your User folder icon to the desktop in Windows 10, there’s an extra step you’ll need to know how to do. First, right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize.

Now select Themes on the left-hand menu, and then once you are there, you can select Desktop icon settings under the “Related Settings” section.

And now you can click the checkboxes for the icons that you want back.

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You should see the icons show up as soon as you click Apply.

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Note: you can rename This PC to My Computer by simply right-clicking and choosing Rename.

Add the My Computer Icon to the Desktop in Windows 7, 8, or Vista

Right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize, then click on “Change Desktop Icons” on the left-hand side of the screen.

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In the Desktop Icons panel you can choose which of the built-in icons to show on the desktop:

One of the most common requests is how to add the Recycle bin back… which you can also do from the above panel.

Another Trick in Windows 7 or Vista

To put the Computer icon on the desktop, click the Start button, and then right-click on “Computer”.

Click the “Show on Desktop” item in the menu, and your Computer icon will show up on the desktop.

How to Add or Remove Common Desktop Icons in Windows 10

Windows includes the common This PC [aka: Computer], User's Files, Network, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel shortcuts that you can add or remove as icons on your desktop.

This tutorial will how you to add or remove common desktop icons for your account in Windows 10.




• Option One: To Add or Remove Common Desktop Icons in Settings app
• Option Two: To Add or Remove Common Desktop Icons using a REG file




EXAMPLE: Desktop icons





1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the Personalization icon.

If you like, you can open Run [Win+R], type the desk.cpl ,5 or rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,0 command into Run, and click/tap on OK to directly open Desktop Icon Settings at step 4 below instead.


2 Click/tap on Themes on the left side, and click/tap on the Desktop icon settings link on the right side under Related Settings. [see screenshot below]





3 You can now close Settings if you like.

4 Check [add] or uncheck [remove] the Desktop icons you want, and click/tap on OK. [see screenshot below]





1 Do step 2 [This PC], step 3 [User's Files], step 4 [Network], step 5 [Recycle Bin], and/or step 6 [Control Panel] below for the desktop icons you want to add or remove from your desktop.

2 To Add or Remove This PC Desktop Icon


A] Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 7 below.

Add_This-PC_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

OR

Remove_This-PC_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

3 To Add or Remove User's Files Desktop Icon


A] Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 7 below.

Add_Users_Files_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

OR

Remove_Users_Files_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

4 To Add or Remove Network Desktop Icon


A] Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 7 below.

Add_Network_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

OR

Remove_Network_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

5 To Add or Remove Recycle Bin Desktop Icon


A] Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 7 below.

Add_Recycle_Bin_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

OR

Remove_Recycle_Bin_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

6 To Add or Remove Control Panel Desktop Icon


A] Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 7 below.

Add_Control_Panel_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download

OR

Remove_Control_Panel_Desktop_Icon.reg

Download


7 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

8 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

9 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes [UAC], Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

10 Refresh F5 your desktop to apply.

11 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.

That's it, Shawn





1. 
   Shawn, I've been using some of your registry settings on Add or Remove Default Desktop Icons in Windows 10 Customization Tutorials for both the default user and the current user and it has been going well until recently. Now I can no longer get the "This PC" icon to show and I get a rundll error when I try to enable it. However, I have found by changing the key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System] to "EnableLUA"=dword:00000000 and then back to 1, I no longer get the error. Just the first change fixes it, but the second returns it. Do you have any insight?

   Thanks,

3. Hello sflesch, :]

   Do you have any issues setting this in "Desktop Icon Settings" from Option 1?

4. 
   

   Hello sflesch, :]

   Do you have any issues setting this in "Desktop Icon Settings" from Option 1?

   Actually, that is where I find the issue. I have been doing some more playing and found that if I log in and back out, the error is gone. Ideally I would like to avoid the issue altogether so when a new user logs in, they don't see the error. I originally thought it wasn't enabling the This PC icon and broke it completely, but I just realized at some point I broke the script so it didn't enable the icon. I need to do a fresh load for sure to see if my script works, but I think the error still exists. I think changing that reg ksy though was a red herring since logging out and back in seems to fix the issue. Here is the script in case you are curious. It's actually called by another script, but I think I have narrowed it to this one.

   :: Various registry keys from Shawn Brink:: Via //www.tenforums.com/:: Script compiled by Sean A. Flesch:: 4:30 PM 1/29/2018:: Cortana options in taskbarREM REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search" /V SearchboxTaskbarMode /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F:: 0 = Hidden:: 1 = Show Cortana icon:: 2 = Show search box:: Combine Taskbar IconsREG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V TaskbarGlomLevel /T REG_DWORD /D 2 /F:: 0 = Always combine, hide labels:: 1 = Combine when taskbar is full:: 2 = Never combine:: Display Taskbar on Multiple DisplaysREM REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V MMTaskbarEnabled /T REG_dWORD /D 1 /F:: 1 = Show taskbar on multiple displays:: Combine Taskbar Icons Multiple DisplaysREG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V MMTaskbarGlomLevel /T REG_dWORD /D 2 /F:: 0 = Always combine, hide labels:: 1 = Combine when taskbar is full:: 2 = Never combine:: Use Large or Small Taskbar ButtonsREG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V TaskbarSmallIcons /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F:: 0 = Large taskbar buttons:: 1 = Small taskbar buttons:: Desktop Icons //www.tenforums.com/tutorials/6942-add-remove-default-desktop-icons-windows-10-a.htmlREM REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel" /V {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /FREM REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu" /V {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /F:: Show Explorer MenusREG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\AlwaysShowMenus" /V "DefaultValue" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /FREG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V AlwaysShowMenus /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F:: 0 Show, 1 Hide:: Show File ExtensionsREG ADD "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\HideFileExt" /V "DefaultValue" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /FREG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V HideFileExt /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /F:: 0 Show, 1 Hide:: Show DrivesREG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer" /V NoDrives /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /F:: 0 Show, 1 Hide:: Open File Explorer toREG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /V LaunchTo /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F:: 0 Quick Access:: 1 This PC"\\d073456\Software$\[1]ImageTools\Scriptfiles\SetDefaultBrowser.exe" "Google Chrome"pause:: To kill and restart explorertaskkill /f /im explorer.exeTIMEOUT /T 3start explorer.exe

5. I should clarify. The manual part of option one, not the command line. When I click on Desktop Icons, I get that error. It's nothing critical. Upon further research, once you log out and back in again, this also fixes it, so no need for the registry key I mentioned above. I guess that would be a red herring.

   It also only seems to happen for the first account created after running the script. I will have to do more research, but as long as I create one account [which is what I usually do as long as I remember] after running it, it doesn't look like any new future users see the issue. It's rather interesting.

6. 
   Odd. I look forward to hearing your findings.

7. I think I figured out the issue. It wasn't any of the registry keys, but when I'm done, I kill explorer.exe and then restart it. To confirm, I ran:

   TASKKILL /F /IM explorer.exe TIMEOUT /T 3 START explorer.exe

   alone and I get the same results. Once I log out and back in again, everything works as it should.

8. Interesting.

   Does refreshing [F5] the desktop help any instead of having to restart explorer?

9. Nope. Still need to logoff once. At least I know I can run my script and it doesn't totally mess the PC up permanently. I'll keep researching as I get time. At least I know I can narrow it down to a force shutdown and restart of explorer.

   Thanks for your help.