- 1 year ago
how to hide Desktop Icons without restarting your computer
To hide desktop icons without restarting your computer on Windows, you can use a simple registry tweak or a third-party tool. Here are two methods you can try:
Method 1: Using a Registry Tweak
- Press
Win + R
to open the Run dialog. - Type
regedit
and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. - Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Right-click on the right pane and choose
New
>DWORD (32-bit) Value
. - Name the new value
HideIcons
. - Double-click on the
HideIcons
value and set its data to1
. - Close the Registry Editor.
This will hide the desktop icons immediately. If you want to show the desktop icons again, set the HideIcons
value data to 0
.
Method 2: Using a Third-Party Tool
If you prefer a more user-friendly approach, you can use a third-party tool like "DesktopOK" or "Fences." These tools allow you to manage the layout of your desktop icons and hide/show them with just a few clicks.
DesktopOK:
- Download and install "DesktopOK" from the developer's website.
- Run the program, arrange your desktop icons as you like, and then click on the "Save" button to save the current icon layout.
- Whenever you want to hide the desktop icons, simply click on the "Hide Desktop Icons" option in the "Desktop" menu.
- To restore the icons, click on the "Show Desktop Icons" option in the same menu.
Fences:
- Download and install "Fences" from the Stardock website.
- After installation, you can create fences (customizable containers) on your desktop to group and organize icons.
- To hide the desktop icons, you can simply double-click on the desktop to collapse all fences, effectively hiding the icons.
- Double-click again to expand the fences and show the icons.
Note: Always exercise caution when making changes to the Windows Registry. Incorrect changes can cause system instability or other issues. Make sure to create a backup of the registry before making any modifications.