In Windows XP, Active Desktop is always turned on and cannot be disabled. The Show Desktop Icons setting is ignored in previous versions of Windows if Active Desktop is turned off. When Auto-hide is selected in the taskbar. If you upgrade a previous version of Windows to Windows XP, and Show Desktop Icons was turned off in the previous Windows version, this setting is maintained, and user icons appear to be missing from the desktop. One of the first things you should check if your Windows taskbar keeps disappearing is your taskbar properties. This behavior occurs if the Show Desktop Icons feature is turned off.

You will toggle off Automatically hide the Taskbar in desktop mode and. However, if you open your Desktop folder in Windows Explorer, you can see your desktop icons in that window. Press Windows key+I to open Settings and go to Personalization > Taskbar. Your Desktop Icons Are Missing in Windows XPĪrticle ID: 330170 - Last Review: FebruRevision: 1.4Īll the icons may be missing from your desktop. (mine occured after a graphics card update, program uninstalls and a registery clean-tweak) Turn off the toggle below Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode. Here is how you can do that: Click Start, then head to Settings > Personalization. Here is a registry file that removes all Taskbar Policies (20+ settings) quickly, in all Windows editions, including Windows 10. If Windows 10 doesn’t display certain icons within the taskbar, you should check your taskbar's settings. If the Pin to Taskbar option is missing when you right-click a shortcut, executable file, or a pinned Start menu item, this is due to the TaskbarNoPinnedList Taskbar Policy applied in your system.

Below Microsoft XP support article solved my problem. Restore Missing Pin to Taskbar Option in Windows 10. I had the same disappearing Desktop icons and folders that drove me crazy over several hours.

Windows 10 taskbar not disappearing