Show Desktop Icons Windows 11: Get This PC and Recycle Bin

A clean Windows 11 install starts with almost nothing on the desktop: usually just the Recycle Bin, sometimes not even that. And now and then an existing desktop goes blank overnight. Both are easy to fix once you know where the switches are. This guide shows how to show desktop icons in Windows 11, how to add This PC and the other system icons, how to resize and arrange them, and what to check when files rather than icons have disappeared.

The steps use the Settings app and the desktop menu, and apply to Windows 11 version 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2.

All icons gone? Turn them back on

Windows has a single switch that hides every icon on the desktop. It is easy to click by accident.

1. Right-click an empty area of the desktop.
2. Select View.
3. Make sure Show desktop icons is ticked.

Microsoft’s desktop icons article documents exactly this: clear the option to hide icons, tick it again to show them. While icons are hidden, your files are still there; Microsoft notes you can open them through Desktop in File Explorer’s navigation pane.

Add This PC, Recycle Bin, Network and your user folder

The classic system icons are switched on and off separately:

1. Open Start > Settings > Personalization > Themes.
2. Under Related settings, select Desktop icon settings.
3. Tick the icons you want: Computer (This PC), User’s Files, Network, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel if listed.
4. Select OK.

The icons appear straight away. The same window has a Change Icon button to pick a different picture for any of them, and Restore Default to undo that.

There is also a box called Allow themes to change desktop icons. If you switch themes and your icons change or disappear, untick it so your choices stay put.

Resize and arrange icons

To change the size, right-click the desktop, select View and pick Large icons, Medium icons or Small icons. Microsoft also lists a quicker way: hold Ctrl and scroll the mouse wheel while pointing at the desktop.

The same View menu has two arrangement options:

• Auto arrange icons keeps icons in neat columns from the top left. Turn it off if you want to place icons freely.
• Align icons to grid snaps icons to an invisible grid when you drag them.

Right-click the desktop and select Sort by to order icons by name, size, item type or date modified.

If icons look blurry or oversized after connecting a different monitor, the display scaling changed; see Windows 11 display scaling.

Files disappeared, not just icons

If the desktop is empty but Show desktop icons is ticked, the files may have moved rather than vanished.

OneDrive folder backup

When OneDrive backs up your Desktop folder, the real Desktop moves into the OneDrive folder. Files then appear on the desktop from there. If something goes wrong with that link, the desktop can show a different, empty folder.

Microsoft’s OneDrive support page explains the fix:

1. Open File Explorer and expand your OneDrive folders.
2. Right-click the Desktop folder and select Properties.
3. Open the Location tab and select Move.
4. Choose the folder that contains the desktop items you want, select Select Folder, then Apply.
5. When asked whether to move files to the new location, select Yes.

If there is no Location tab, Microsoft says you are probably looking at a different Desktop folder, for example one outside OneDrive or one belonging to a work or school account.

A different user account

If you signed in with a temporary profile or a new account, your usual desktop belongs to the other profile. Check the account name in Start. Our change user name and switch to a local account guides explain how accounts and profile folders relate.

Deleted files

If files really were deleted, check the Recycle Bin first, then follow recover deleted files in Windows 11.

Add shortcuts to apps, folders and websites

System icons are only part of it. To put your own shortcuts on the desktop:

• A folder or file: in File Explorer, right-click it, select Show more options > Send to > Desktop (create shortcut). The original stays where it is; the desktop gets a link to it.
• An app: open Start, select All, then drag the app from the list onto the desktop. Windows creates a shortcut.
• Anything else: right-click the desktop, select New > Shortcut and type or browse to the location.

Deleting a shortcut (an icon with a small arrow) removes only the link, not the app or file. Deleting an icon without an arrow deletes the actual file, which then goes to the Recycle Bin.

Keep the desktop for things you use every day. A desktop covered in downloads and documents is hard to search and, if OneDrive folder backup is on, all of it syncs to the cloud.

Desktop or taskbar? Pick what suits you

Many people prefer to keep the desktop clean and pin favourite apps to the taskbar and Start instead. Right-click an app in Start and choose Pin to taskbar. Microsoft’s taskbar page covers the rest, and our guide to align the taskbar left helps if you want the Windows 10 look. To jump to the desktop at any time, press Windows logo key + D.

Icons still missing or broken

If icons show as blank white pages or the desktop does not respond:

1. Restart Windows Explorer. Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc, find Windows Explorer, select it and choose Restart task.
2. Sign out and back in, or restart the PC.
3. Install updates in Settings > Windows Update.
4. Repair system files with SFC and DISM; see our SFC scannow guide.
5. Test a new user account. If the desktop works there, your profile is damaged; copy your files across.

Avoid “icon cache cleaner” tools and registry tweaks; the steps above cover the same ground safely. For a darker look that also changes the desktop menus, see dark mode in Windows 11, and for wallpapers and themes see Windows 11 personalization.