What is the Desktop.ini file? How to hide and delete Desktop.ini file on Windows

If you are a user of the Windows operating system, surely the following information is essential for you. Let's learn about what is Desktop.ini file? How to hide and delete the Desktop.ini file is very simple on Windows in this article!

1. What is the Desktop.ini file?

The .ini format is initialized by the Windows operating system.

It is essentially a file that is installed in plain text, which tells you how a program places icons from size, color, language or whatever.

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The Desktop.ini file is a file that is installed for the Windows desktop or also for a program that uses the desktop.

Windows uses the Desktop.ini file to determine how a folder should be displayed, be it icons, names, shared properties, etc.

2. Is the Desktop.ini file a virus?

The desktop.ini file is not a script, virus, malware or anything bad. Desktop.ini is completely secure. No viruses or malware exist.

The files are quite benign and contain no active elements that affect or harm your files and computer.

However, there was a time when the Trojan virus 'linked' and attacked the system under the Desktop.ini file name.

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Please scan your computer for viruses regularly to avoid virus attack!

So, if you've set to hide system files and still see the Desktop.ini file, it's most likely malware (malware).

3. Why does the Desktop.ini file appear?

Normally, Windows puts files out of view so the Desktop.ini file also works in the background and we may not see them.

This helps the computer not to be fussy or messed up during use.

The neatly organized Explorer makes searching easier and you avoid accidentally deleting or changing important configuration files.

However, some antivirus programs will make a setting to show hidden files so you can see exactly what's going on on your computer.

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4. How to view Desktop.ini

So can we see the Desktop.ini file and the answer is absolutely yes, moreover we can do it easily with the following steps.

Step 1 : Open  File Explorer  to any folder.

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Step 2 : Go to the View tab  .

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Step 3 : Turn it on, check the Hidden items box  .

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Step 4 :  Go to the desktop and check if the desktop.ini file has appeared.

If you want to know what's in a desktop.ini file, you can open it in Notepad.

Also, you should be able to change its contents without any problem. However, be careful and don't change anything if you don't really understand and know what you're trying to do.

5. Is it possible to delete the Desktop.ini file?

This seems to be a very interesting question when it comes to the Desktop.ini file.

It is correct that we can completely delete the Desktop.ini files, but this causes the folder display settings to be restored to the original default state.

This is not confusing because whenever you change the folder icon or a thumbnail image or share properties, when you delete this file, your device changes will be lost and your settings will be lost. this folder will be converted to the default state on the system.

But it will automatically regenerate the next time you customize the folder settings.

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6. How to use Desktop,.ini files to customize folders

To customize folders using the desktop.ini file is not difficult if you follow the following instructions.

The first step you need to create and update the original Desktop.ini file, this helps the folder to be upgraded and updated in terms of display and other external settings.

Note :

- Add a custom icon or thumbnail for the parent folder.

- Create a small information tip to provide information about that folder and it will be displayed when you move the mouse pointer over the folders.

- Adjust how folders are shared or accessed.

Steps to change the display style of any folder using Desktop.ini file:

Step 1 : Select the folder you want to customize using the Desktop.ini file > Run the command ' attrib +s folder name ' to select the folder on the directory system.

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Step 2 : Create Desktop.ini file for the folder on question.

Enable  Read-only  and  Hidden  in the Properties window   of the Desktop.ini file.

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This will help you restrict other users from accessing.

Note : The Desktop.ini file you created needs to be in the Unicode file format in order for the character string to be saved in a readable form.

Step 3 : Here is an example of the file Desktop.ini creates for a folder named FileInfo:

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[.ShellClassInfo]  - Initialize system properties that help you customize folders by assigning values ​​to some properties that can be 'defined' in the Desktop.ini file.

ConfirmFileOp  - Set this to 0 and you will not receive the You Are Deleting a System Folder warning   when deleting or moving the Desktop.ini file.

IconFile  - When you want to set a custom icon for the folder, you can specify the icon file name here. To be more sure you should check the full path of the file.

IconIndex  - If you set a custom icon for the underlying folder, simply set it at 0 if there is only one file icon in the file specified for the IconFile property.

InfoTip  - This is a special property, used to set a text string and can be used as an informative tip about the directory. If you set this to a text string and then hover your mouse over the folders, the text strings stored in the Desktop.ini file will be displayed there.

7. How to hide the Desktop.ini file

Step 1 : Go to the search box or click on the Windows icon > Search  File Explorer Options .

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Step 2 : Click View bar   >  Under Hidden files and folders , check  Don't show hidden files, folders, or drivers  > Select  OK .

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8. How to thoroughly delete the Desktop.ini file

Step 1 : Find the Desktop.ini file and perform normal deletion like other files or press  Ctrl + Shift + Delete  to delete it permanently.

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Step 2 : Use the  Windows + R combination .

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Enter the keyword  regedit  in the empty box > Press  Enter .

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Step 3 : Access the folders by path:

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer.

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Step 4 : Right-click in the space on the right > At  New  > Select  DWORD (32-bit) Value .

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Step 5 : In the Value Name box   > Enter the name of the DWORD as ' DesktopIniCache '.

In the Value data frame   > Enter the value as ' 0 '.

Then click  OK  and restart the computer.

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The above article has provided you with information about the Desktop.ini file, how to use it and how to delete the file. Hope to be useful to you. Wishing you every success in your life.

Kareem Winters

Update 11 July 2021