The Windows 10 computer icon is missing.

Although it has a great many other disadvantages, many users are very annoyed by the fact that they cannot display the familiar “My Computer” shortcut on their desktop.

And the fact is that by default it really isn’t there – with the release of the new OS it simply disappeared. Therefore, many are looking on the Internet for information on how to return it to the desktop.

There are only two ways to do this - through the standard desktop appearance settings and through the registry editor. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Using desktop settings

In fact, the “My Computer” shortcut has not disappeared from the entire system; it is there, but is not displayed on the desktop.

Accordingly, it just needs to be displayed, brought to the desktop from the farthest corners of the system.

It is worth noting that in Windows 10, by default, there are no other shortcuts familiar to us, but all of them can be displayed on the desktop in the same way.

This method consists of performing the following sequence of actions:

  • Place the mouse cursor anywhere where there are no shortcuts and right-click there.
  • Select “Personalization” (highlighted in Figure 1) in the list of available commands that appears.
  • In the window that appears, pay attention to the set of sections located on the left side. In this set, you must select the “Themes” item (highlighted in green in Figure 2). This is done by simply clicking on it.

  • After that, in the “Related Settings” section, find the “Desktop Icon Settings” item (highlighted in blue in Figure 2) and click on it.
  • The corresponding window will open. In it you can see a panel for selecting standard Windows icons. It is titled “Desktop Icons” (highlighted in red in Figure 3).
    In this panel you just need to check the boxes next to the items that will be placed on the desktop.

  • After selecting all the necessary items, all that remains is to click the “OK” button and exit the desktop settings.

Note: INWindows 10“My Computer” is called “This Computer”. This shortcut performs exactly the same functions.

Interestingly, there are several other ways to get to the settings menu we need, which allows us to display the “This PC” shortcut.

How to get to "Desktop Icon Settings"

There are several other ways to do this, specifically:

  • Open "Control Panel". In the search bar (highlighted in green in Figure 4), enter the word “icons” or any other word from the name of the window we are looking for (“Desktop icon settings”).
    After that, among the search results, find the item “Show or hide common desktop icons” (highlighted in red). Click on it.

  • Press the Win+R key combination on your keyboard (without the plus sign) to open the command execution window. In the input line write “Rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,5”, as shown in Figure 5.
    After that, press Enter on the keyboard or the “OK” button in the same window. Such actions will lead to the opening of the window that we need and in which we can restore the “This PC” shortcut.

Actually, this simple method makes it possible to restore the icons we need on the desktop. But there is a more complex method.

It is intended for those cases when it is not possible to create these icons using the method described above for some reason.

By the way, you may be interested in other articles:

  • Why Windows 10 won't start: Effective solutions

Using the Registry Editor

As for how to return the “This PC” icon using the Registry Editor, this method involves performing the following sequence of actions:

  • Press the keyboard shortcut Win + R. The same window will open as shown in Figure 5. But in the input line you need to enter not the command that appears in that figure, but “regedit”.
  • After this, in Explorer, which is highlighted in red in Figure 6, go to the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER” folder, then to “Software”, “Microsoft Windows”, “CurrentVersion”, “Explorer” and finally to Advanced. It is this folder that is opened in the figure below.

  • After this, the contents of the folder we need will open in the main editor window. In it you need to find a file called “HideIcons” (highlighted in green in Figure 6).
  • This file must be opened. This is done by double clicking on it.
  • Next, the window shown in Figure 7 will open. In the “Value” field you need to enter “0”, as shown in the same figure.

  • Now all that remains is to click “OK”, exit the registry editor and restart the computer.

Note: There are cases that the file "HideIcons" is not available in the Registry Editor. Then it needs to be created. To do this, right-click on an empty space in the editor, a drop-down menu will open with a single command - “Create”. Hover your mouse over it and the creation menu will open. Select the item called “OptionDWORD32 bits" (shown in Figure 8). After this, almost the same window will open as in Figure 7. In the “Parameter:” field, enter its name (“HideIcons"), in the "Value:" field - "0" and click OK. Now restart your computer too.

The first method is clearly presented in the video below. As for others, despite the apparent complexity, there is absolutely nothing complicated about them.

Windows 10: My Computer icon on Desktop

Two ways to display the My Computer icon on the Desktop in Windows 10.

As soon as you install Windows 10 or switch to another OS, you will undoubtedly want to look at something, fix something, or configure something.

The fastest way to access system files is through the desktop icon - My Computer.

When you first start Windows 10, as well as subsequent times, you will not see this icon on the desktop.

Even when you press the start button, you won’t find the “my computer” option. They didn’t hide it, but simply considered it superfluous for some reason.

There are several options in Windows 10 to display the My Computer icon on the desktop.

Although in Windows 10 the icon will not be called my computer, as in the seven, but this computer.

The easiest option is to display the Windows 10 My Computer icon on the desktop

In order for the My Computer icon to appear on the Windows 10 desktop, first of all we pick up the mouse, or click on the touchpad, if it’s a laptop, on an empty space on the desktop with the right button.

Immediately after this, a small window will appear - click “personalization”.

The desktop will change to another window. In it, first click on the word “themes”, and then on “desktop icon settings”.

Now it's a matter of technique. A new window will appear in front of you, in which simply check the box next to the word “computer”.

In conclusion, click “Apply”, “OK” and admire, configure more precisely.

Exclusive option to return the computer icon to the Windows 10 desktop

Those who have upgraded to Windows 10 from 7 will undoubtedly miss its gorgeous look.

Therefore, in this section I will try to return some elements of its appearance, namely personalization.

Moreover, you will also be able to display the My Computer icon on your desktop, this will be an exclusive option, so to speak.

To do this you will need to download and here. After that, open the folder and click on the “personalization10.exe” file.

The interface of the good old seven will pop up in front of you, and in it you click on the line change desktop icons and follow the actions from the first section.

By the way, you can not delete this small application, but use it for other settings, especially if you miss the seven.

The fastest option to display the My Computer icon on the Windows 10 desktop

In conclusion, I want to give perhaps the fastest option, although I think you have nowhere to rush.

What you need. First of all, launch the “Run” utility. Who doesn’t know where it is in Windows 10 –

Then click OK. A window will appear in front of you where you only need to check a box - as in the previous options.

That's all. Please note that you have the option to display other shortcuts, but these are personal preferences. Good luck.

When icons are at hand - it's convenient - you can quickly launch an application or open a folder. During installation, most programs ask the user whether to place a shortcut on the desktop. In “ten”, when installed by default, “My Computer” is not displayed. Therefore, if you are used to having this shortcut on your desktop, or you accidentally deleted it and want to know how to return the “My Computer” icon to the desktop in Windows 10, this article will help you.

How to quickly return the My Computer icon to the desktop in Windows 10

Let's consider two options - using standard means through the Windows 10 interface and using the registry. Choose the one that is more convenient for you. It must be said that in the “ten” the output of standard system shortcuts “Trash”, “Network”, “User Files” is somewhat different from other operating systems.

Install the “My Computer” shortcut through the Windows 10 interface

For this:

  • When all windows are minimized anywhere on the screen, right-click and select “Personalization”.
  • Go to Themes - Related Options - Desktop Icon Options.

  • Enable the shortcuts you need:

Returning “My Computer” through the registry

If you are used to configuring Windows operating system settings through the registry, you can add the “My Computer” shortcut as follows:

  • Open Registry Editor: Click Start and type regedit in the search bar and press Enter.
  • Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ Advanced
  • Change the content of the HideIcons parameter (DWORD 32) to 0. Or create it with this value.
  • Reboot - system icons will appear on your desktop.

How to return the “My Computer” icon to the desktop in Windows 10 - video instructions

With new operating systems, Microsoft is seeking to move away from the standard way users think about Windows. In Windows 8, the American corporation made the main screen tiled, but in Windows 10 it returned the familiar desktop. However, with all these manipulations, the familiar My Computer icon disappeared from the desktops of computers running Windows 10. There is a way to return the My Computer shortcut to the desktop in Windows 10. We suggest you familiarize yourself with it.

Return the My Computer shortcut to the desktop in Windows 10 through the Personalization menu

The Windows 10 operating system allows each computer owner to customize literally everything, from the background image to the location of mini-tiles in the Start menu. Users can also return the My Computer item through standard Windows 10 tools. The fact that the familiar shortcut is disabled by default does not indicate Microsoft’s desire to force users to abandon it completely, it just decided that it would be more convenient.

To return the My Computer shortcut to the desktop in Windows 10, you must:


After completing all the desired settings, the user will see that a standard My Computer (This Computer) shortcut, familiar from the oldest versions of Windows, has appeared on his desktop.

How to return My Computer to the Windows 10 desktop when the version of the system is not activated

Microsoft allows everyone to install the Windows 10 operating system on their computers for free. After installation, the user receives a non-activated version of the system, which can be activated by purchasing a license key. Not everyone activates Windows 10, but the trial version of the system does not have access to some functions that the user may need. In particular, on the version of Windows 10 without activation, you cannot launch the “Personalization” settings using standard methods.

To get to the “Show or hide common desktop icons” menu, you can use the Control Panel. To do this, right-click on the “Start” button and select “Control Panel” in the window that appears. In the menu that opens, at the top right in the search, write the word “Icons”, and based on the search results, click on the required item.

There is an even easier way to get to the settings that allow you to return My Computer to the Windows 10 desktop. To do this, you need to enter a command in the “Run” menu that will immediately take you to the required settings page. To make this happen, do the following: press the Windows + R key combination on your keyboard, and in the “Run” menu bar that opens, enter the command Rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,5 to go to the “Show or hide regular desktop icons” settings item.

To place the My Computer shortcut on the desktop in Windows 10, you need to spend literally a minute if you know where to look for the necessary settings. The described methods for a non-activated version of Windows 10 are also excellent for the activated version of the operating system, and the “Run” window is the easiest and fastest way to get to the required settings.

It is convenient to work when the main controls and links to frequently called components are at hand or in the most visible place, for example, on a desktop. One of these components is the “This PC” icon, formerly called “My Computer”.

Today we’ll figure out how to put My Computer on the desktop in Windows 10/remove it from there by all possible means, without resorting to third-party applications to accomplish this task (tweakers).

The question of how to place a computer icon on the Windows 10 desktop is still asked on forums, but the frequency of its appearance is much lower than it was in the first months after the release of the “tens”. This is because valuable articles began to appear on many sites, designed to help users solve the issue and reveal it in its entirety. Why do users have such a need?

The Explorer icon that opens a window with a list of all devices for storing binary information (hard drives, solid-state drives, flash drives and other digital devices) is missing by default on the desktop in Windows 10. The ways to place its icon are no longer the same as what users saw in Windows 7 or XP.

There are at least three ways to add my computer to the Windows 10 desktop. We will consider them in more detail, providing detailed instructions for each of them.

Ten has an applet that is responsible for displaying several system icons on the desktop. It is familiar to users from previous editions of the operating system, but the method of calling it is different.

  1. Call the desktop context menu.
  2. Select "Personalization".

Another option for calling the same window is as follows.

1. Call “Settings” by holding Win + I.

2. Go to the “Personalization” section.

3. Go to the “Theme” tab by clicking on the vertical menu item of the same name.


By opening the window of the same name, you can specify which system icons need to be displayed on the desktop and which need to be hidden, because they include not only “My Computer”.

5. To show the desired icon, check the box next to it and click “Apply” or “OK” to close the window and save the specified parameters.

There is another option - doing " Rundll32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,5" in the "Run" line, which is called by the key combination Win + R.

Method No. 2

The next option to put My Computer on the desktop is to create a shortcut to the object. Through it you can open Explorer in the appropriate directory.

1. Open the Explorer window.

The fastest way to do this is using the Win+E key combination and a shortcut on the Taskbar.

2. Open the contents of the directory for which we will create a shortcut on the desktop.


3. We reduce the open window so as to display an area of ​​the desktop free from any elements on either side of the open window.

4. Grab “My Computer” with the left mouse button and drag it to an empty space on the desktop, thereby creating a shortcut.


As a result, we get the desired shortcut with the ability to set its name and change its icon on the “Shortcut” tab in the element’s properties.

Method No. 3

There is another option to display the “My Computer” icon, as well as all the others, on the desktop. The number of actions and complexity of the instructions are slightly higher than the previously presented graphical methods for solving the problem, and this section will be useful to few people, but for the sake of complete coverage of the topic, we will also consider it.

It's no secret that all Windows 10 settings are stored in the system registry. These settings are accessed directly, through the registry editor, or indirectly, through third-party applications (tweakers) or through the operating system's graphical interface (as in the first option).

1. Call up the command interpreter window by simultaneously holding down the Win+R hotkey combination.

2. Enter regedit in the text line and execute the command by clicking “OK” or pressing “Enter”.


3. Expand the HKCU branch, where the configuration regarding the current user’s profile is collected.

4. Go to the Software subsection.

5. In it, expand the Microsoft directory, where we follow the path Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer.

6. Open the Advanced directory.


7. Call the window for editing the “HideIcons” parameter and set its value to zero.

If the key is missing, create it (DWORD 32 bit type).

To apply the settings, restart Explorer or log out and log into Windows 10 again.



 

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