26/10/2021
How to Fix Missing Desktop on Windows 10?
Windows 10 Desktop Disappeared. How to Fix It?
The Windows 10 desktop may disappear due to a glitch,
resulting in the desktop not showing and missing desktop
icons and wallpaper. This article will show you how to fix this
issue.
A desktop is a GUI (Graphical User Interface) element in
computing, sometimes described as a graphical shell. Desktop
GUIs help users access and edit files but generally do not
provide access to all features found in the underlying
operating system.
The Desktop environment typically consists of icons, windows,
toolbars, folders, wallpapers, and desktop widgets. A desktop
environment aims to be an intuitive way for the user to
interact with the computer using concepts similar to those
used when interacting with the physical world, such as
buttons and windows.
Windows 10 users sometimes experience a glitch where the
desktop doesn't show. Specifically, the wallpaper and desktop
icons go missing, preventing them from using the computer.
In addition, the desktop may disappear if users accidentally
change some system settings.
There are several solutions to the missing desktop (or just for
the missing icons) problem, depending on the cause. Below,
we show several ways to return your desktop and icons.
Start Explorer Process
File Explorer (formerly known as Windows Explorer) displays
the hierarchical structure of files, folders, and drives on the
computer. According to some users, starting File Explorer
fixes the missing desktop/icons problem on their Windows
operating systems. To try this, you will need to run Task
Manager.
Task Manager is a system monitor program used to provide
information about the processes and programs running on a
computer and the general status of the system. Some
implementations can also be used to terminate processes and
programs and change processes' priorities.
To open Task Manager, click Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys on your
keyboard, or press Ctrl + Alt + Delete, and then select Task
Manager from the Windows Security Screen menu.
In the Task Manager window, click "More details" if needed,
and then click "File" and select "Run new task" .
In the "Create new task" box, type "explorer" and press Enter on
your keyboard or click "OK" .
Now the explorer.exe process should start, and your desktop
with all icons should reappear.
Disable Tablet Mode
In Windows 8, the Start screen and apps from the Microsoft
Store might run in full-screen mode, even if you do not use a
tablet or a device with 'touch'. In Windows 10, Microsoft
developed Tablet Mode, which is not enforced on all users, as
it was in Windows 8. Sometimes Windows becomes
seemingly confused between when to enable or disable Tablet
Mode.
Windows 10 will actively notify you of Tablet Mode only if you
have a device with touch. If, however, Tablet Mode is enabled
on the Windows 10 operating system, it might cause issues
with missing desktop/icons - disabling Tablet Mode might fix
this problem.
To check if Tablet Mode is enabled (and disable it if that is
the case), press the Windows key + R keys on your keyboard
to open a Run dialog box. Type "cmd" and press Enter or click
"OK" to open Command Prompt.
Command Prompt is the input field in a text-based user
interface screen, a command-line interpreter application. It is
used to execute entered commands. Most of these
commands are used to automate tasks through scripts and
batch files, perform advanced administrative functions,
troubleshoot and solve certain Windows issues.
To use Command Prompt, you must enter a valid command
with any optional parameters. Then, it executes the command
as entered and performs whatever task or function it was
designed for.
To open Windows Settings, type the "start ms-settings:"
command and press Enter on your keyboard to execute it and
to open Settings.
Now, click the "System" icon.
Select "Tablet mode" on the left pane, and under "When I sing
in", choose the "Use desktop mode" option. You can also
disable the "Hide app icons on the taskbar in tablet mode" and
"Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode" options by
toggling the switch to "Off" position.
Restart the computer and see if this solves the missing
desktop problem.
Enable "Show desktop icons" Option
If there are no icons on your desktop, but all other desktop
components (such as Taskbar) are present, you might have
accidentally turned off the "Show desktop options" feature. If
this is the case, you can retrieve your icons in just a few
mouse clicks.
Simply right-click on the desktop and select "View". Then click
the "Show desktop icons" . If this option is enabled, you should
see the check icon next to it.
See if this returns the desktop icons. Some users claim that
enabling the "Auto arrange icons" option solved the problem,
so we suggest you try this.
Run System File Checker
If none of the methods mentioned above solve the problem,
there might be corrupted system files in the Windows
operating system - these will need to be repaired using
System File Checker.
System File Checker (SFC) is a utility in Windows that allows
users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and
restore corrupted files.
To run it, open Command Prompt. To open it with an empty
Desktop, use the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keyboard shortcut to open
Task Manager. In Task Manager, click "File" and select "Run
new task" . In "Create new task" Open box, type "cmd" and mark
the "Create this task with administrative privileges." checkbox
to start elevated Command Prompt.
Now, type the "sfc /scannow" command and press Enter. This
will start the System File Checker. When the scan has
finished, restart the computer and see if this solves the
missing desktop issue.
Restore Your System Using Restore Points
The System Restore tool creates restore points. A restore
point is a collection of important system files stored by
System Restore on a given date and time. System Restore
reverts everything to a saved restore point, but first, you must
have one recorded. If a restore point does not exist on your
computer, System Restore has nothing to revert to.
To use this tool, you must have created restore points. With a
created restore point, System Restore will bring your system
back to the previous working state, without affecting your files
and data.
This solution is a last resort - try it only if nothing else solves
the problem. If you have any system restore points created
before you started experiencing issues with the missing
desktop (or its icons), you might be able to fix the problem by
performing a System Restore.
To restore your system, launch Run. To start it, press the
Windows Key + R and type "rstrui.exe" . In the Run dialog box,
press Enter or click "OK" .
In the System Restore window, click "Next" .
If there are restore points created, you will see a list of them.
Mark the "Show more restore points" checkbox, and it should
display more restore points. Select the restore point that suits
you best (depending on the time created, etc.) and click
"Next" .
Do not select a Restore Point when the issue with the missing
desktop was already present.
Confirm your restore point. Your computer will be restored to
the state before the event detailed in the "Description" field. If
you are happy with your choice, click "Finish" and begin the
system restore process.
We hope that the solutions above returned your desktop and
icons. If another workaround solves the missing desktop
problem and we have not mentioned it, do not hesitate to
leave a comment in our comments section below.
