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General discussion

Deleting shortcut of uninstalled program

Mar 17, 2008 7:29AM PDT

I recently uninstalled a program from my computer, and then realized that there was still a shortcut on my desktop for it. But when I tried to delete the shortcut, windows said it couldn't find it, and I can't delete the shortcut. Must I re-install the program to get rid of the shortcut?
Thanks,
jm

Discussion is locked

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Re: deleting shortcut.
Mar 17, 2008 8:28AM PDT

That's strange.

Go into Windows Explorer, find the Desktop folder in your profile (not too difficult, in XP it's Documents and Settings\yourusername\Desktop) and set the view to detail.
Repeat with Documents and Settings\All Users\Desktop (All Users is the folder that holds the icons that are user-independent).

If you find it, you should be able to delete it.

Kees

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deleting shortcuts
Mar 22, 2008 5:08AM PDT

how I delete my shortcuts is by "Search" , just go to search and in the files and folders click and type in the box or boxes what he program is and it will bring all the parts of the program up, that includes shortcuts ,right click on the lines of each one and then you see delete ,so delete .an other way is Ccleaner a free program that will find it to but, I like the search just click start and it is there . Cheers John .

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Tried Deleting It While In Safe Mode?
Mar 17, 2008 8:29AM PDT

Restart in Safe Mode, then RIGHT click on the shortcut icon in Windows Explorer, choose "Delete"..

How To Start In 'Safe Mode'

If that doesn't do it, then try the free "Moveonboot" program below which should allow you to remove the file:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/moveonboot.html

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Thanks guys!
Mar 17, 2008 10:14AM PDT

Kees/Grif,
Tried both your ideas, but there was no sign of the shortcut in WE in either reg or safe mode. However, when I restarted in reg mode after the two tries, voila! The shortcut was gone. Another mystery of the computer world.

Thanks much for your help.
john

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That happens sometimes because it is ...
Mar 18, 2008 7:43AM PDT

still referenced in the iconcache.

Clicking once on the desktop then pressing the F5 key will usually "disappear" the icon but a re-boot never fails.

TweakUI also works for such problems.

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Deleting a shortcut after uninstalling a programme.
Sep 12, 2009 11:21PM PDT

I couldn't delete an icon which remained on my desktop (as shortcut) because it kept telling me that there was no such programme. Then I read one of your replies which said: Click once on the icon and then press F5...........Voila`, I got rid of the icon.
Thanks to whoever posted that reply.

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Pressing F5 to remove stubborn icon
Feb 16, 2011 7:01AM PST

Thank you very, very much! Clicking on the icon and pressing F5 worked like a charm!

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Delete icon
May 23, 2011 7:48AM PDT

Thanks I tried the other suggestions, but they didnt work. Yours worked. Thanks.

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Worked Great !!
Sep 30, 2012 9:46AM PDT

Worked like a charm !!
Thanks so much.
It literally took a split second !!

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Removing Icon
Oct 4, 2012 6:18AM PDT

Great tip. I tried everything without success. Then tried your F5 suggestion once and problem solved. Thanks so much.

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..o.0
Nov 15, 2008 8:29AM PST

You do not need to download something, to delete someting else. Either that's a scam, or a virus. Seriously. Just follow what others have said, and DO NOT download anything that you don't know of, to delete something else.

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Are You Talking To Me?
Nov 15, 2008 11:39AM PST

Simply stated, MoveOnBoot is a legitimate program which I've used LOTS of times which allows "locked" files to be removed easily. And I DO "know of" it. Of course, that's if you don't know how to use the Recovery Console, etc.

Since this is a "newbies" forum, I'm guessing you've seldom had "locked" files, malware and otherwise, which you are unable to delete..

Give the program a try if the issue ever comes up and if you ever need to comment on an eight month old post..

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Try this
Mar 21, 2008 12:08PM PDT

Right-click the shortcut and select properties. In the window that appears, click the "General" tab. Now open the folder that is listed next to "Location". If the shortcut isn't in there, I would suggest you try running check disk:

chkdsk c: /r

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Did You Read The Posts In The Thread?
Mar 21, 2008 1:55PM PDT
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Deleting shortcut of uninstalled program
Mar 22, 2008 1:52AM PDT

I had a similar problem. My problem was that whenever I tried to delete the shortcut, Windows Explorer crashed. I solved the problem by installing ExplorerXP, a freeware utility available at http://explorerxp.com/. It did not crash when I deleted the shortcut.

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Try this tool
Mar 22, 2008 2:19AM PDT
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Choose to open
Mar 23, 2008 8:31AM PDT

If deleting does not work then try the REVERSE way. Check to see how intelligent WINDOWS is working. We all know that the program has been uninstalled but the short cut to the deleted program still exists and windows cannot let you delete the shortcut, WHY??.first thing, this will depend on how the program was uninstalled, number of programs which were using that shortcut and how that program has been operating.(1) User problem.... this is common as some users often ignore rules like restarting your PC soon after uninstalling/Removing a program.(2) Another program might still be using this shortcut if the shortcut has links to shared folder (s).To make it short, instead of deleting that annoying shortcut, right-click on the shortcut then click to open.Let windows search for what was uninstalled, It will fail to find the program to that shortcut then it will give you options whether to fix or delete because the shortcut may no longer work properly. Select to delete then let it take its time to delete it .... and it will delete the shortcut or display a message,,,,then write down that message and let me know....Good Luck

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Orignal Post Was Solved...
Mar 23, 2008 12:10PM PDT
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Shortcut fixer
Sep 13, 2009 12:34PM PDT