Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?

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.

Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
Windows 11 icons not showing

After weve investigated this issue thoroughly, it turns out that this problem has multiple potential causes. Heres a shortlist of potential culprits that might be triggering this error code:

  • Icons are hidden via Windows GUI As it turns out, one of the latest security updates that Microsoft released for Windows 11 ended up hiding the icons by default. Fortunately, you can make them visible again via the GUI menu.
  • Corrupted icon cache In some cases, you might be dealing with this issue due to some type of corruption that is affecting the icon cache. If this scenario is applicable, you can fix the issue by refreshing the icon cache via an elevated CMD prompt or by rebuilding the entire icon cache using a .BAT file.
  • Corrupted icon registry database According to other users that were also experiencing this issue on Windows 11, the problem might actually be rooted in some kind of corruption affecting the icon registry database. In this case, you can fix the problem by repairing the potentially corrupted registry entries by running a custom .REG file.

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

1. Make the desktop icons visible

If youre experiencing this issue immediately after installing a pending update for Windows 11, chances are youre 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.

Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
Enabling desktop icons

Note: If you notice a checkbox next toShow 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 doesnt happen automatically, right-click on a free space on your desktop again and click on Refresh from the context menu.

Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
Refreshing the desktop on Windows 11

If you already ensured that the desktop icons are enabled from the GUI and you still dont 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 thats affecting the icon cache.

Note: An issue with the icon cache is much more likely if youre 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.

Weve created sub-guides for both approaches, but our recommendation is to start by deploying an icon cache refresh (since its 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 youre only dealing with a minor display glitch but wont work if youre dealing with some type of corruption that is affecting the icon cache.

Heres 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.
    Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
    Open a Windows Terminal app
  2. When youre 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.

Well provide you with the code lines, but youll need to create the BAT file yourself.

Heres 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.
    Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
    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.
    Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
    Creating the bat file to rebuild the icon cache
  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.
    Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
    Rebuilding the icon via BAT file
  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 didnt work in your case, chances are youre 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 theyve 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.
    Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
    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.
    Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
    Saving the Notepad file as
  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.
    Why are my shortcuts not working on my desktop?
    Creating the registry fix
  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.