Can I Delete Desktop.INI Files?

Deleting

To delete Desktop.INI files, browse to the desired file using Windows Explorer or My Computer, right click the file and then select 'Delete' from the menu that appears. You may wish to open the file beforehand and look for a line that starts with 'IconFile.' Any folders or files appearing after the equal sign on this line can also be safely deleted. Many Windows folders contain Desktop.INI files. Ensure that you are in the target folder before proceeding.

View System and Hidden Files

Desktop.INI files have the System and Hidden attributes enabled. They do not appear in the standard Windows Explorer or My Computer configuration. You must enable the viewing of both System and Hidden files before the Desktop.INI file can be deleted. In Windows 7 and Vista, open 'Appearance and Personalization', and then click 'Folder Options.' In Windows XP, select 'Folder Options' from the 'Tools' menu in Windows Explorer or My Computer. Click the 'View' tab and then uncheck the 'Hide protected operating system files' box. In Windows Vista and XP, select the 'Show hidden files and folders' radio button. In Windows 7, select the 'Show hidden files, folders, and drives' radio button.

Creating

To create a Desktop.INI file, first ensure that the folder it resides in has the System attribute enabled. Open the Command Prompt, and use the CD command to browse to the folder containing the target folder. Enter 'attrib +s

' and then press 'Enter.' Replace '

' with the name of the folder. Next, open Notepad and enter '[.ShellClassInfo]' on the first line. Enter the desired options on subsequent lines. For example, enter 'IconFile=

' to specify a custom icon for the folder. Replace '

' with the relative path to the icon file. Save the file as 'Desktop.INI' in the root of the target folder. Ensure that you select 'Unicode' next to 'Encoding' when saving.

Hiding

Consider hiding System and Hidden files from view, rather than deleting Desktop.INI files. Desktop.INI files are small text files and minimal disk space gains are made by deleting them. Additionally, it is good practice to hide files with these attributes, as inadvertent deletion of other System and Hidden files can result in major problems. In Windows 7 and Vista, open 'Appearance and Personalization', and then click 'Folder Options.' In Windows XP, select 'Folder Options' from the 'Tools' menu in Windows Explorer or My Computer. Click the 'View' tab and then check the 'Hide protected operating system files' box. In Windows Vista and XP, select the 'Do not show hidden files and folders' radio button. In Windows 7, select the 'Do not show hidden files, folders, and drives' radio button.