desktop.ini like a virus cancer

You can use Everything 1.4.1.895 to easily find and delete all of them.

desktop.ini is by default a hidden file. It is hidden for a reason - so you don't delete or modify it, or even think about it or worry about it.

It typically characterises folders- their icon, type, popup tooltip.

If you do as suggested above, you will regret it.

(I presume you mean desktop.ini not windows.ini?)

Make sure in file explorer, View, Options, View that

the top and bottom options are as shown.

im sick of this pop up "superfluous")

Consider your browser settings and add-ons - use a pop-up blocker or ad blocker.

I regularly delete desktop.ini without any ill effect but shows up with every new build. I always keep all files visible for other reasons but desktop.ini is obviously not needed.

Desktop.ini and all .ini files hail from first windows, leftover from before Registry which was supposed to curtail use of .ini files.

Here for your amusement, delight and delectation are some examples which illustrate a little what you would lose by deleting them:

1. desktop.ini contains the folder comment text (here asdasdas, just for demo purposes).


2. desktop.ini contains the folder icon definition (here my own Music folder on H:)


3. Special case: Pictures folder (and similarly for the others)


Some 3rd party utilities make use of these to provide small GUI changes

You may see more than one desktop.ini on the Desktop because that's a composite of the user desktop and the all users' (Public) Desktop - two folders. You can see that from their Properties.

I think your problem is self-inflicted- you seem to be saying you want O/S protected files permanently visible, when the intent of hiding them is to protect the user from e.g. inadvertently deleting them, which is otherwise with easy with a multiple selection.

I don't think that's drivel - I think you meant drivel, rather than dribble.

Check out the Desktop.ini in any of the user special folders and you will see quite a bit of code... ...

It's what makes the Documents folder something completely different to a folder named Documents

They can be deleted in most folders without any serious issues but they can cause problems in those folders where they do not just store display styles, but things like location, special icons and properties Etc

My desktop.ini files (which are hidden by default, yet I have show hidden files enabled) are in only specific folders that I want them to be in. They have the custom Icon pictures for specific folders. All other folders don't have that. (Sometimes after big Windows updates, one gets created on the Desktop. I delete it every single time). I have no windows.ini file in C:/


Picture: This is a folder called "My Stuff". Notice the green star in the top-left corner of the window? The desktop.ini (last file listed) says to load that Green Star icon. All the other entries in this folder are folders as well. Inside each one, they have their own desktop.ini files.

This is what this current desktop.ini file says:
[.ShellClassInfo]
IconFile=X:\My Stuff\My Icons\Green Star In Square.ico
IconIndex=0

that's all for this file. Other ones are similarly named, yet with a different icon file.