Desktop icon/shortcuts keep disappearing----WHY???

[will7370]

Got a screwy problem here. Every time I place a shortcut/icon on my desktop for my D and E drives, they stay there for about a week or so, and then they disappear. They are not in my Unused icon folder. They just DISAPPEAR!

Any clue why this is happening? And how to LOCK them in place permanently?

I am using Win XP with all the current service packs.

[Ai Haibara]

Are the D: and E: drives always connected, or are they removable drives (USB flash drives, etc.)?

[will7370]

They're always connected. That's the big mystery.

[hello_hello]

Try right clicking on the desktop and selecting properties, then look around for the Microsoft Desktop Cleanup annoyance thing to see if it's checked. I don't know if it'd be causing the problem, but I can't think of any other reason why shortcuts would just vanish. Then again, I can't see any reason why Microsoft would assume most Windows users need a desktop cleanup wizard anyway. Maybe they assume we all have the IQ of a mentally challenged goldfish.

Thinking about it, it probably dates back to the days of "Active Desktop" which Bill gates no doubt assumed everyone would want to have simply so he could control the internet. I guess if the desktop cleanup wizard was originally designed for Microsoft's benefit, it'd at least make sense. Well.... similar to the way it made sense for Windows to nag you to sign up for a Windows Live ID the second it was installed.

[hello_hello]

Would this be a good time to mention xplorer2 as a Windows Explorer replacement? It's dual paned (like having two instances of Windows Explorer open side by side) and each pane can have multiple tabs just like a browser. You can set it up the way you like it (a tab for each drive in both panes for example) save your setup and tell it not to save the program state when it closes. That way, it'll open each time just as it was when you saved it's settings.
No need for multiple Windows Explorer shortcuts, just one for xplorer2, although it also has it's own bookmarks system which you can use for often visited locations.... just like a browser. You might have to hunt around on the xplorer2 site to find it, but there's a free "lite" version which does all of the above. About the only time I use Windows Explorer is to install xplorer2 so I don't have to use Windows Explorer again.