Windows 10: Zombie icons on desktop

For the past several days, I have 'zombie' icons showing up. See photo. The ones on the left don't exist. If I try to move them, it just creates a selection box. If I right click on them I get the same msg as when I click on the desktop. The icons on the right are the real ones note that the one called Daisy was renamed to Puppy. As you can see, they are various types of documents. Some are shortcuts, some are not. I have tried every setting I can think of. I have restarted 3 separate times. System info in attached photo.

:)

 

Remove Linux Desktop Icons

I am not sure whether this will work (Ubuntu does not have icons like that on the desktop by default), but I suggest opening the trash bin and sweeping the icons into the window showing the trash bin.

 

Desktop Icons Won't Stay Put

Hi Laurie,

As per the issue description I understand that you are facing issues with desktop icons.

I suggest you try the following step in order to arrange the icons.

• Right click on the desktop.
• Click on view
• Check the option auto arrange icons.

Let us know if this helps.

Thanks.

 

How do I get rid of Zombie icons?

Hi Ken,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I'm Hahn and I'm here to help you with your concern.

I’m sorry to hear that you have issues with zombie icons on your Windows 11 desktop.

In this case, you may have used Onedrive to back up your desktop files.



You can set up to cancel Onedrive desktop backups by following these steps:



Find the "OneDrive" folder in "This PC", right-click on it and select "Settings".

Go to the "Accounts" tab and click on "Select folder".

Remove the tick in front of "Desktop" and click "OK".

This will prevent the files on your desktop from syncing to OneDrive.

Try to see if the files you deleted will be restored.

I hope this helps. If you still have problems with zombie icons, you may need to scan your system for malware or corrupted files. You can use Windows Security or other antivirus software to do that.

Your Sincerely

| Microsoft Community Support Specialist