Desktop location

Jonathanp272 said:

I installed a programme to my pc and when it asked where I would like to install programme files too I selected desktop. This filled my screen with icons related to the programme and since then I have lost all my desktop. I’ve deleted the programme I installed tried system restore but all my desktop files have gone can’t even search them? Any ideas please? Thank you

Brink said:

Normally, if you were to select your Desktop to install a program to, it would only add the program files to that location and wouldn't remove your current desktop icons.

Could it be possible you mistakenly deleted your desktop icons along with the program files?

If you didn't empty the Recycle Bin, you might look in it to see if the desktop items may still be there to restore from.

Thank you Brink.

Here the simple solution would to be to look in the Recycle Bin and simply right click the icons they want to restore back to the deleted location - desktop.

RolandJS said:

Brink, would a repair install recover the default desktop? I mean after OP has exhausted all means of searching for and recovering any recoverable desktop folders and files?

I'm afraid it wouldn't.

It looks like if there are not any backups available, they may be gone for good.

Jonathanp272 said:

Thanks for this, no I didn’t delete the icons as I went through control panel to uninstall the programme. Yes I’ve looked there and nothing

Your post is somewhat confusing then because removing one program doesn't delete other non-related programs or icons.

Did you have icons on the desktop "before" you installed the other program? If so, how did they disappear "after" you removed non-related other program you installed and then removed via control panel?

I thought this even more odd, suggesting the desktop items vanished when the program was installed:

And mistakingly I pressed desktop instead of programme files and this places all the files on the desktop. At this point I could not see my old files.

Note that no attempt seems to have been made to search as I suggested or use e.g. Recuva to try to find and restore deleted items.

dalchina said:

I thought this even more odd, suggesting the desktop items vanished when the program was installed:

Yeah, that makes no sense.

dalchina said:

Note that no attempt seems to have been made to search as I suggested or use e.g. Recuva to try to find and restore deleted items.

Because at this point recuva may not be needed (or useful). Add that in order to "attempt" to get all files back will require a paid version, which even then is no guarantee 100 percent recovery success (been there, done that). Also, a recovery program can't repair registry issues caused by bonkered program uninstalls so there's still that issue.

That said, yeah, a recovery program might be of use depending on the data lost, but for shortcuts or programs for which you've still got the installer a recovery program is a waste of time and money.

At the end of the day the OP needs to decide if a recovery tool is worth the time and effort with the added fact that even then there's no guaranteed 100 percent success.

Do any of them show up if you look via File Explorer in C:\Users\youraccountname\Desktop?