How to Restore Desktop Icons in Windows 10, 7 and XP

When you install Windows on your PC, you only get the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop. So, you need to restore other desktop icons for easy access to system resources in Windows 10, 8, 7, or XP.

It’s not very difficult to restore desktop icons in Windows, you just need to know the right settings. But desktop icon settings differ slightly for every version of Windows. So, in this tutorial, we will show you how to get back or restore desktop icons in Windows 10, 8, 7, and XP.

SEE ALSO: How to Empty Recycle Bin Automatically in Windows 10?

A) Restore Desktop Icons in Windows 10 and 8

The process of restoring desktop icons in Windows 10 and 8 is quite similar. So, we are going to explain the process for Windows 10. You can take hints for Windows 8 from here. Let’s check the steps.

Step 1: Open Personalization Settings in Windows 10

First of all, right-click on the blank space on the desktop and select Personalize to open Personalization settings.

Right Click On Desktop And Select Personalize In Windows 10
Right-click on Desktop and select Personalize in Windows 10

SEE ALSO: How to Make an Invisible Folder in Windows?

Step 2: Open Desktop Icons Settings

In the Personalization setting, select Themes from the left pane and click on the “Desktop icon settings” link under Related Settings.

In Personalization Settings Select Themes And Click On Desktop Icon Settings Under Related Links
Personalization Settings > Themes > Desktop Icon Settings

Step 3: Restore Desktop Icons

Now, in the Desktop Icons Settings window, select the desktop icons that you want to show on the desktop and click Apply then OK.

Select The Icons To Display And Click Apply And Ok
Select the icons to show and click Apply

Step 4: Verify Icons on Windows 10 Desktop

Now, go to the desktop to check if the changes we made have been applied or not. If you followed the steps correctly, you will see the icons selected in the previous step on your Windows 10 PC’s desktop.

Show Desktop Icons On Windows 10 Pc
Desktop icons on Windows 10 PC

SEE ALSO:
1. How to Clean Install Windows 10?
2. How to Upgrade your Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10?


B) Add or Restore Desktop Icons in Windows 7

After Windows 10, it’s time to check the settings for Windows 10. The steps are quite similar but there is a good difference in GUI. So, let’s check the steps for Windows 7.

Step 1: Open Personalization Settings in Windows 7

Right-click on the blank space on the desktop and choose “Personalize” from the context menu of Windows 7. Make sure you click on the blank space on your desktop otherwise, you will get a different context menu. Choose “Personalize” from the context menu to go to Windows 7 Personalization settings.

Right-click on Desktop and select Personalize
Right-click on Desktop and select Personalize

Step 2: Click the Change Desktop Icons in Windows 7

In Windows 7 Personalization screen, click on “Change desktop icons” from the left pane. It will open the desktop icon settings.

Click on 'Change desktop icons' from left pane
Click on the Change desktop icons option from the left pane

Step 3: Add Desktop Icons in Windows 7

Choose the desktop icons you want to show on your desktop and press OK. You can skip the icons that you don’t want to show on the Windows 7 desktop.

Select icons to display on Windows 7 desktop
Select icons to display on the Windows 7 desktop

SEE ALSO: How to Recover Permanently Deleted Files in Windows 10 or 11?

Step 4: Verify Desktop Icons

Selected icons will be displayed on your Windows 7 desktop. You have successfully restored desktop icons in Windows 7.

Desktop icons in Windows 7
Desktop icons in Windows 7

SEE ALSO:
1. How to Clean Install Windows 7?
2. How to Change Login Screen Background in Windows 10 and 11?


C) Get back or Restore Desktop icons in Windows XP

Finally, it’s time to check the process of restoring desktop icons for Windows XP. The process is a little different compared to Windows 10 and 7. Let’s check the steps.

Step 1: Open Desktop Properties in Windows XP

Right-click on the blank space on your Windows XP desktop. Make sure you click on the blank space otherwise, you will get a different context menu. From the right-click context menu, choose Properties.

Right-click on blank space on Desktop and select Properties
Right-click on the blank space and select Properties

Step 2: Click ‘Customize Desktop’

In the Properties window, select Desktop Tab if not selected already. Next, click on the Customize Desktop button to change desktop icon settings.

Click Customize Desktop from Desktop properties in Windows XP
Click Customize Desktop from Desktop properties in Windows XP

Step 3: Choose Icons to Display on Desktop in Windows XP

Now select the icons that you want to display on your Windows XP desktop and click OK.

Select icons to display on Desktop in Windows XP
Select icons to display on the Desktop in Windows XP

Step 4: Check Restored Icons

Now, go to your desktop and all your selected icons will show up there. The Recycle Bin is already there by default.

Desktop icons in Windows XP
Desktop icons in Windows XP

SEE ALSO: How to Install Windows XP on your PC?


Get Back Deleted Icons in Windows 10, 8, 7, or XP

Displaying desktop icons is quite easy if you know the right settings. The process for Windows 10, 7, and Windows XP is a bit different. But you can easily follow the process using the steps shown above.

Using this tutorial, you can easily restore desktop icons (deleted accidentally or unintentionally) in Windows. Hope you found this post useful.

Editorial Staff

Hi there, we are the editorial staff at WINDOSPC (former HELLPC). We are a team of funny and technical people. Feel free to get in touch with us via Contact-Us page.

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