How to Restore Missing Desktop Icons and Files in Windows 10/11

Desktop Files and Icons Disappeared in Windows 10/11

"My brother played games on my computer last night. But when I turned on the computer this morning, it showed me a blank screen. All the desktop icons as well we the files on it are missing. Where are those desktop icons and files? I can't find them anywhere, including the recycle bin. Do you have any ideas that How can I restore missing desktop icons and files in Windows 10?"

Windows 10 computer desktop comes originally with icons like recycle bin, this PC, network, control panel, etc. And users prefer to create shortcuts of regularly used apps there. Meanwhile,  we're used to saving files like Word document, Excel sheets, or PowerPoint presentations on the desktop for quick access.

Sometimes, while using the computer, it happens now and then that we lose some or even all the desktop icons and files due to accidental deletion or improper settings. But for more convenient usage, we need those icons and files back. In this article, we will walk you through a very simple method to restore desktop icons on Windows 10. Besides, professional EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is highly recommended to help you restore desktop files in Windows 10. 

How to Restore Missing Desktop Icons on Windows 10/11

By following the steps below, you can easily restore all the missing icons that you previously deleted accidentally.

1. Open "Settings" and click on "Personalization".

2. Click "Themes", then click "Desktop icons settings".

3. Select the icons you want to see on the desktop, like Computer (This PC), User's Files, Network, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel.

4. Click "Apply", then "OK".

If you don't see any icons on your desktop, it's probably because you have hidden the previously configured icons in Windows 10. You can quickly make them visible again by right-clicking an empty space on the desktop, selecting "View" and clicking the "Show desktop icons" option.

How to Recover Desktop Files in Windows 10/11

As for lost or deleted desktop files recovery in Windows 10, you'll need the help from EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard tool. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard enables you to recover more than 200+ file types from HDD, SSD, USB flash drive, pen drive, external hard drive, and so on. If your desktop files disappeared because of careless deletion, hard drive formatting, virus attack, or partition loss, you could restore them easily and quickly.  

The steps to restore desktop files are similar to those for recovering deleted files from USB flash drive. See the detailed guides below. 

Step 1. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. Choose "Select Folder" under Specify a location. Browse for the location where you lost the folder and click "OK" to scan. 

Step 2. You can search for the target folder or use the Filter feature to find a certain type of files in the folder. 

Step 3. You can preview the recovered folder. Then, click "Recover" and choose a new & secure location on your PC to keep the recovered data.