📎 AI Summary:
The thread discusses a user experiencing loss of desktop icons and taskbar items, suspected to be caused by malware. Despite attempts to fix by rebuilding the icon cache, running malware scans, and using sfc /scannow, the issue persists, with some icons and properties still inaccessible. The overall sentiment indicates that malware may have caused complex system changes, and the user is cautious about performing system resets due to personalized settings, with a previous system restore point already lost.
dedq

dedq

New Member
Member details
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
10
Thread Author #1
Hello everyone, I am new here.

I have lost all of my icons (desktop, control panel, programs in the taskbar) and I want to know how to fix the problem.

Here is what it looks like:

1. Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

2. Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

3. Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

Thanks !
 

Sort by date Sort by votes
Neemobeer

Neemobeer

Windows Forum Team
Staff member
Member details
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
8,995
#4
If you had malware you may still have other malware. I'd boot into safe mode and run several more scans as well as from a command prompt run sfc /scannow
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dedq

dedq

New Member
Member details
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
10
Thread Author #5
Neemobeer said:
If you had malware you may still have other malware. I'd boot into safe mode and run several more scans as well as from a command prompt run sfc /scannow
Click to expand...
I did a scan with couple of Antivirus program and malware scanners, seems ok, also tried sfc command and it reported no problems, maybe some kind of Registry entry or edit could fix this.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Neemobeer

Neemobeer

Windows Forum Team
Staff member
Member details
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
8,995
#6
There are lots of things that the malware could have done that wouldn't be easy to undo. Can you manually change any of the icons?
 

Upvote 0 Downvote
dedq

dedq

New Member
Member details
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
10
Thread Author #7
I am able to launch the program using shorcut, but unable to enter "properties", it just won't open.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Neemobeer

Neemobeer

Windows Forum Team
Staff member
Member details
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
8,995
#8
Any error or just won't open?

If you have a system restore point I would roll the system back.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dedq

dedq

New Member
Member details
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
10
Thread Author #9
It won't open at all.

Well, I won't run Reset as a solution since my computer is personalized in many ways, I just can't lose all the tweaks.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Neemobeer

Neemobeer

Windows Forum Team
Staff member
Member details
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
8,995
#11
A System restore only rolls back system settings not user settings or data.
 

Upvote 0 Downvote
Neemobeer

Neemobeer

Windows Forum Team
Staff member
Member details
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
8,995
#12
You can try using recovery software to recover the restore point data, or recover the malware file and determine what it capabilities are and try and reverse it. Otherwise if you have no user state from before the malware you're unlikely to fix the issue. One drastic step is you could build a VM with the same Windows version, dump the HKCR and HKLM hives and run them through a compare program, but even that could take of lot of time to revert settings back.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
dedq

dedq

New Member
Member details
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
10
Thread Author #13
I would have tried it if I had it anyway.

Just can't get the idea what could it be,I mean all the icons, even in "Control Panel", it just gets unbearable.

I would have performed a simple Registy edit, but seems a bit more complicated since there are no icons anywhere.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Neemobeer

Neemobeer

Windows Forum Team
Staff member
Member details
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
8,995
#15
All the icons and functionally if the shortcuts is controlled by registry settings and there thousands of them. Microsoft also likes to use guids to link functionality so there's no way you will be able to stare and compare at the registry to fix it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Neemobeer

Neemobeer

Windows Forum Team
Staff member
Member details
Joined
Jul 4, 2015
Messages
8,995
#16
You can restore it but you have to do it from a Windows recover disk and that's only assuming there is a backup, although it sounds like the malware deleted them.
 

Upvote 0 Downvote
dedq

dedq

New Member
Member details
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Messages
10
Thread Author #19
Well, I hope my programs won't get deleted, at least since i have over Terabyte of games.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.