How to Remove Desktop.ini File From Your Computer
- Have you seen the desktop.ini file on your computer?
- Would you like to remove this file from your computer?
In today’s guide, I’ll be teaching you about the desktop.ini file and how to remove desktop.ini file from your computer.
What is the desktop.ini file?
The desktop.ini file is a hidden file that is used to store information about the arrangements of a Windows folder. So let’s say you decide to change the layout or even the settings of a folder, this is in turn will automatically generate a desktop.ini file to save those changes. The desktop.ini file can be found anywhere on your computer but it’s more likely to appear on your desktop.
Is the desktop.ini file dangerous?
The short answer is No. The desktop.ini file does not affect your computer in any way, hence, it’s not a dangerous file. Normally, your computer automatically generates the desktop.ini file hence it’s not dangerous but to be on the safer side it’s best you run an antivirus check on the file because there are a few viruses that can use the desktop.ini file.
After running a scan on the file, the results will determine whether or not you should remove the file from your computer.
How to Remove Desktop.ini File From Your Computer
If you are tired of constantly seeing this file pop on your computer and you don’t care whether or not if deleting the file will revert the changes you have made so far, then, follow the steps outlined below to learn how to remove desktop.ini file from your computer.
Locate the ini on your computer and right-click on the file.
Click on Delete.
Click on OK, if a prompt comes up for confirmation.
Once you do this, the desktop.ini will be removed from your computer. Alternatively, you can also try this
Highlight the file using your mouse or your keyboard.
- Press the Delete key on your keyboard.
- Press the Enter if you are asked to confirm your action.
- This will also remove the desktop.ini file from your computer.
Note: Performing the steps above will only take the desktop.ini file and place it in your computer’s recycle bin. Hence, to permanently delete the file, go and clear your recycle bin. Once you do this, the file will be permanently removed from your computer.
Now, you have learnt how to remove desktop.ini file from your computer, to prevent the file from reappearing on your desktop, follow the steps outlined below:
Open the Run You can do this by typing Run on the search bar and clicking on the first option or you can press the Winkey + R on your keyboard.
Type in Regedit into the empty field and then click on OK.
On the Registry Editor window, expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE found on the left panel of the editor.
Next, expand Software.
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Under Software, expand Microsoft and then expand Windows.
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Under Windows, expand CurrentVersion and then expand Policies.
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Right-click on Explorer. This should reveal a list of options, under New, select DWORD Value.
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Rename the value to DesktopIniCache.
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Double-click on the Value.
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Under Value data, set the figure as zero (0).
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Click on OK and exit the Registry Editor application.
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Doing this will prevent the desktop.ini file from recreating itself.
Now, if removing the desktop.ini file from your computer seems like a drastic step to take since you still want to retain the changes you have made on a folder, then hiding the desktop.ini is a better step to take. Continue reading to learn how to hide desktop.ini file.
How to Hide Desktop.ini File?
To learn how to hide desktop.ini file, follow the set of instructions outlined below:
On the search bar, type in File Explorer Options and open it.
Go to the View tab.
Under the Hidden files and folder, check the box that says “Don’t show hidden files, folders, or drives“.
Click on OK to save changes.
Doing this will hide all the hidden files on your computer including the desktop.ini file.
Can I stop my windows from generating the desktop.ini file?
The answer is No. You cannot stop Windows from generating the file each time you make changes to a folder.
Can I remove the desktop.ini file from my computer?
Yes, the desktop.ini file can be removed from your computer. Since it’s a system file even though removing the file totally from your system is not harmful to the computer, deleting it will change the settings you affected back to default. What does this mean? Let’s say you change the icon of a folder on your computer and this resulted in generating a desktop.ini as a way to help your computer keep track of the changes. Deleting the desktop.ini file will return the icon of that folder to its default icon.
Rather than deleting or removing the desktop.ini file from your computer, it’s best to just hide the file and in today’s guide, I’ll be teaching you how to remove desktop.ini file from your computer and also how to hide desktop.ini file.
