How can I add the Internet Explorer icon back to the Windows Vista desktop?

How can I add the Internet Explorer icon back to the Windows Vista desktop?

Someone at the Microsoft Windows Vista design team thought it would be very neat to give us an operating system that had no icons on the desktop. "They’re smart enough to find what they need" they said. Well, I hate it, and in my Add Desktop Icons in Windows Vista article I’ve showed you how to revert to the populated desktop.

Yet even then the Internet Explorer icon is missing and there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to restore it.

Well, there is a way.

To add the Internet Explorer icon back to the Windows Vista desktop follow these steps:

1. Open Registry Editor.

2. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERHKEY_CURRENT_USERHKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerHideDesktopIconsNewStartPanel

3. Create the following key (DWORD 32-bit):

{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}

(just copy/paste, including the brackets)

Note: As always, before making changes to your registry you should always make sure you have a valid backup. In cases where you’re supposed to delete or modify keys or values from the registry it is possible to first export that key or value(s) to a .REG file before performing the changes.

4. Close Registry Editor.

There is no need to reboot. Just wait a few seconds and see how the icon appears:

Done!

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You might also want to read the following related articles:

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• Quickly Add Quick Launch Icons in Windows Vista
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• What’s User Account Control in Windows Vista?