Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
2 Intern
•
48 Posts
0
6073
October 20th, 2001 18:00
Twin Desktop Icons
On my Dell Latitude C800, running Win2k with NTFS, any folder or file or shortcut that I copy to the desktop shows two icons, apparently identical twins. Selecting one does NOT select (highlight) the other. Either one works, and in every way appears to be real. Either icon's properties sheet has the same correct and appropriate information. But deleting one icon makes the other icon inoperative (e.g. in the case of a shortcut, properties for the remaining icon says that it is "not a valid shortcut," although it worked fine and displayed normal properties before its twin was deleted). Then deleting the remaining icon generates an error message to the effect that it cannot be deleted because it cannot be found. Refreshing the desktop does delete the remaining icon.
Renaming one icon does not rename the other icon, until the Desktop is refreshed.
My Windows Explorer Desktop folder lists only ONE item for any twin icon pair on the desktop itself. And searching for that icon-item name ("doodledee" so that it would be distinctive) shows no duplicates anywhere else on the computer. Deleting either twin icon on the desktop itself deletes it also from the Windows Explorer Desktop folder.
Copying or moving something FROM the desktop (either icon) TO a Windows Explorer folder works fine; only one version of the file shows up in the folder. If the icon was moved, its twin icon remains on the desktop, but refreshing the desktop then deletes it.
This problem has nothing to do with the standard desktop "namespace" icons: Computer, Network, Recycle Bin, and Documents. I do NOT have double icons for any of those, and they all work fine.
Since my Windows Explorer Desktop folder is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop (i.e. under All Users rather than under a particular profile), perhaps a registry edit would fix this problem, but if so, I don't know what that registry edit would be.
Any help would be very greatly appreciated.
R.N. Folsom
P.S.: Dell's voice technical support, after some flailing around (including the amazingly wrong statement, quickly retracted after I challenged it, that Desktop icons were supposed to target only programs), told me that there is a "populate" virus that causes my desktop icons as described above. After checking that my Norton Antivirus definitions were the latest, I ran a full scan on ALL files and Norton discovered no viruses. And I can find no reference to a "populate" virus on Symantec's 's web site. And Norton has emailed me that they know of no "populate" virus, and also that my double icon phenomenon is not known to be caused by a virus (or trojan or worm). So I have concluded, tentatively, that Dell's "it's a virus" explanation was wrong.
Renaming one icon does not rename the other icon, until the Desktop is refreshed.
My Windows Explorer Desktop folder lists only ONE item for any twin icon pair on the desktop itself. And searching for that icon-item name ("doodledee" so that it would be distinctive) shows no duplicates anywhere else on the computer. Deleting either twin icon on the desktop itself deletes it also from the Windows Explorer Desktop folder.
Copying or moving something FROM the desktop (either icon) TO a Windows Explorer folder works fine; only one version of the file shows up in the folder. If the icon was moved, its twin icon remains on the desktop, but refreshing the desktop then deletes it.
This problem has nothing to do with the standard desktop "namespace" icons: Computer, Network, Recycle Bin, and Documents. I do NOT have double icons for any of those, and they all work fine.
Since my Windows Explorer Desktop folder is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop (i.e. under All Users rather than under a particular profile), perhaps a registry edit would fix this problem, but if so, I don't know what that registry edit would be.
Any help would be very greatly appreciated.
R.N. Folsom
P.S.: Dell's voice technical support, after some flailing around (including the amazingly wrong statement, quickly retracted after I challenged it, that Desktop icons were supposed to target only programs), told me that there is a "populate" virus that causes my desktop icons as described above. After checking that my Norton Antivirus definitions were the latest, I ran a full scan on ALL files and Norton discovered no viruses. And I can find no reference to a "populate" virus on Symantec's 's web site. And Norton has emailed me that they know of no "populate" virus, and also that my double icon phenomenon is not known to be caused by a virus (or trojan or worm). So I have concluded, tentatively, that Dell's "it's a virus" explanation was wrong.
No Events found!
Jim Hardin
2 Intern
•
2.1K Posts
0
October 21st, 2001 11:00
I do not think that a virus is the cause here. I would tend to think this is somehow user induced. There is some setting you have set that is causing this.
W2K is a no nonsense OS. Have you used or tried to use anything that affects the look of the display?
Have you made any changes to the desktop settings?
Is your display correctly identified?
cojac_1
23 Posts
0
October 21st, 2001 19:00
Dell Dimension V350
Pentium 2 @ 350 MHZ
Dell D1028L Monitor
Harman/Kardon Speakers
Toshiba DVD ROM
Zip 100mb
Windows 98 First Edition
128 mb RAM
Hewlett Packard Deskjet 722c
Elizabeth Langl
4 Posts
0
December 6th, 2004 15:00
Hi
I've read all this with interest, as I recently bought a new Dell computer and after customising it, putting things where I wanted them, etc, I found there were two of everything except the three basic things - My Computer, Recycle Bin, and Internet Explorer.
In the Desktop Folder, there is a consecutive list, then another identical consecutive list, apart from the three singles mentioned above. When I delete one item in the folder, the duplicate one disappears as well - the same as on the Desktop itself.
Has anyone come up with a solution?
Liz