How to Fix Windows 11 Desktop Shortcuts Not Showing After Update

Some Windows users are reporting that after installing a pending update on Windows 11, their desktop shortcuts have completely disappeared. This problem seems to be primarily affecting Windows 11 users running on insider builds.

After we’ve investigated this issue thoroughly, it turns out that this problem has multiple potential causes. Here’s a shortlist of potential culprits that might be triggering this error code:

Now that we went over every potential cause that might cause this issue, let’s go over all the actual fixes that other affected users have successfully used to fix this problem:

1. Make the desktop icons visible

If you’re experiencing this issue immediately after installing a pending update for Windows 11, chances are you’re no longer seeing the desktop icons because the update has flicked the visibility of the icons to disabled.

This problem can be easily rectified by right-clicking on a free space on your desktop and clicking on Show desktop icons from the View tab.

Note: If you notice a checkbox next to Show desktop icons, icons should already be enabled on your Windows 11 installation. In this case, move directly to the next method below.

After you click on Show desktop items, the desktop should refresh automatically and the icons should re-appear on your screen.

If the refresh doesn’t happen automatically, right-click on a free space on your desktop again and click on Refresh from the context menu.

If you already ensured that the desktop icons are enabled from the GUI and you still don’t see them, move down to the next potential fix below.

2. Refresh or Rebuild icon cache

If the method above was not effective in your case, you should proceed by troubleshooting a potential corruption that’s affecting the icon cache.

Note: An issue with the icon cache is much more likely if you’re noticing that taskbar icons and File Explorer icons also fail to display.

If the icon cache is responsible for this problem, you should be able to fix the problem by refreshing the icon cache via Windows Terminal or by rebuilding the entire icon cache using a custom .BAT file.

We’ve created sub-guides for both approaches, but our recommendation is to start by deploying an icon cache refresh (since it’s the easier approach) and work your way to rebuilding the entire icon cache if the first method fail.

Refreshing the icon cache

Refreshing the icon cache will only force-enable the icon cluster back on. This should fix the issue if you’re only dealing with a minor display glitch but won’t work if you’re dealing with some type of corruption that is affecting the icon cache.

Here’s how to refresh the icon cache via Windows Terminal:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Next, type ‘wt’ inside the text box and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open up the Windows Terminal interface with admin access.

   

2. When you’re prompted by the User Account Control, click Yes to grant admin access.
3. Inside the elevated Windows Terminal app, type the following command and press Enter to refresh your current icon cache:

   ie4uinit.exe -show

4. Close the elevated Windows Terminal app and see if the problem is now fixed.

Note: If the icons are still not showing on your Windows 11 installation, follow the next sub-guide directly below.

Rebuild the icon cache

Rebuilding the entire icon cache will require you to build a custom BAT file that will automatically run a series of commands that will effectively rebuild the cache associated with every Windows icon.

We’ll provide you with the code lines, but you’ll need to create the BAT file yourself.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Next, type ‘notepad’ inside the text box, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open up Notepad with admin access.

   

2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Yes to grant admin access.
3. Inside the elevated Notepad window, paste the following code inside the empty box:

   @echo off
   set iconcache=%localappdata%\IconCache.db
   set iconcache_x=%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*
   
   echo.
   echo The explorer process must be temporarily killed before deleting the IconCache.db file.
   echo.
   echo Please SAVE ALL OPEN WORK before continuing.
   echo.
   pause
   echo.
   If exist "%iconcache%" goto delete
   echo.
   echo The %localappdata%\IconCache.db file has already been deleted.
   echo.
   If exist "%iconcache_x%" goto delete
   echo.
   echo The %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\IconCache_*.db files have already been deleted.
   echo.
   exit /B
   
   
   :delete
   echo.
   echo Attempting to delete IconCache.db files...
   echo.
   ie4uinit.exe -show
   taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F
   If exist del /A /F /Q "%iconcache%"
   If exist del /A /F /Q "%iconcache_x%"
   start explorer.exe
   echo.
   echo IconCache database files have been successfully deleted.
   goto restart
   
   
   :restart
   echo.
   echo.
   echo You will need to restart the PC to finish rebuilding your icon cache.
   echo.
   CHOICE /C:YN /M "Do you want to restart the PC now?"
   IF ERRORLEVEL 2 goto no
   IF ERRORLEVEL 1 goto yes
   
   :yes
   shutdown /r /f /t 00
   
   :no
   exit /B

4. Next, click on File from the ribbon menu at the top, then click on Save As from the context menu that just appeared.

   

5. Inside the Save as menu, navigate to a location where you want to save the BAT file, then change the Save as type to All Files. Next, name the file to whatever you want, but make sure the file needs with the ‘.bat’ extension. Check the example below.

   

6. Hit Save to create the file then close Notepad.
7. Right-click on the newly created .bat file and click on Run as administrator from the context menu.
8. Wait until the file is processed, then reboot your computer and see if your desktop icons are restored on your Windows installation the next time you restart your PC.

If the problem is still not fixed, move down to the final potential fix below.

3. Restore icons via .reg file

If the two methods above didn’t work in your case, chances are you’re dealing with some kind of corruption that is affecting the registry database that handles your Windows icons.

Several affected users that were also dealing with this issue on Windows 11 have reported that they’ve been able to fix the problem by creating a custom .reg file to ensure that the registry database related to icon management is not corrupted.

Follow the instructions below to create and run a .reg file that fixes the potential registry corruption:

1. Press Windows key + R to open up a Run dialog box. Next, type ‘notepad’ inside the text box, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open up Notepad with admin access.

   

2. At the User Account Control (UAC) prompt, click Yes to grant admin access.
3. Inside the elevated Notepad window, paste the following code inside the empty box:

   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons]
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons]
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu]"{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}]
   
   [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}]
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}]
   
   [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}]
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}]
   
   @="Internet Explorer"
   
   "InfoTip"="@C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll,-881"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\DefaultIcon]
   
   @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll,-190"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\InProcServer32]
   
   @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll"
   
   "ThreadingModel"="Apartment"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\shell]
   
   @="OpenHomePage"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\shell\NoAddOns]
   
   @="Start Without Add-ons"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\shell\NoAddOns\Command]
   
   @="\"C:\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\iexplore.exe\" -extoff"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\shell\OpenHomePage]
   
   @="Open &Home Page"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\shell\OpenHomePage\Command]
   
   @="\"C:\\Program Files\\Internet Explorer\\iexplore.exe\""
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\shell\Properties]
   
   @="P&roperties"
   
   "Position"="bottom"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\shell\Properties\command]
   
   @="control.exe inetcpl.cpl"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\Shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\ieframe]
   
   @="{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\Shellex\MayChangeDefaultMenu]
   
   @=""
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}\ShellFolder]
   
   @="C:\\Windows\\System32\\ieframe.dll,-190"
   
   "HideAsDeletePerUser"=""
   
   "Attributes"=dword:00000024
   
   "HideFolderVerbs"=""
   
   "WantsParseDisplayName"=""
   
   "HideOnDesktopPerUser"=""
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID]
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{018D5C66-4533-4307-9B53-224DE2ED1FE6}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000
   
   "{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}"=dword:00000000
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{031E4825-7B94-4dc3-B131-E946B44C8DD5}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{5399E694-6CE5-4D6C-8FCE-1D8870FDCBA0}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{9343812e-1c37-4a49-a12e-4b2d810d956b}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{F02C1A0D-BE21-4350-88B0-7367FC96EF3C}"=dword:00000000]
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30301D}"=dword:00000000]

4. Next, click on File from the ribbon menu at the top, then click on Save As from the context menu that just appeared.

   

5. Inside the Save as menu, navigate to a location where you want to save the REG file, then change the Save as type to All Files. Next, name the file to whatever you want, but make sure the file needs with the ‘.reg’ extension.

   

6. Hit Save to create the file, then close the Notepad window.
7. Right-click on the .reg file that you just created and click on Run as administrator from the context menu.
8. At the confirmation prompt, click Yes, then wait for the operation to complete.
9. Reboot your PC and see if the icons have repeated on the desktop of your Windows 11.