Tech Tip #14: Desktop Icons Disappear?

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions about computers. As often as possible, I’ll share those with you as well as my solutions. They’re always brief and focused. Enjoy!

Q: My desktop icons disappeared for no known reason. What do I do?

A: This is a question I get more often than you’d think. One moment, they’re all there, lined up like little soldiers. The next, they’re gone.

Here’s what works about 80% of the time:

  1. Right clock on the desktop
  2. Select View
  3. Make sure that the Show Desktop Icons is checked
  4. If not, check it

Desktop icons reappear. Your menus may look a little different than the image above, but not much. 


Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

Author: Jacqui
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, an Amazon Vine Voice, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.

4 thoughts on “Tech Tip #14: Desktop Icons Disappear?

  1. I run into this from time to time. I know there’s probably an easy solution, but it’s a matter of knowing what that is.

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