The Internet Explorer icon does not appear on your desktop. When you try to use the Desktop Items dialog box in Windows XP or the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box in Windows Vista to add the Internet Explorer icon, there is no Internet Explorer check box.

To add an Internet Explorer icon to your desktop, you can use the following method:

For Windows 7 users:

Important Windows 7 no longer supports the ability to modify the registry to get the special Internet Explorer icon to appear on your desktop. This change was made to ensure Internet Explorer could be removed easily for compliance reasons. The only way to add the Internet Explorer icon to the desktop in Windows 7 is to create a shortcut. To create a shortcut to Internet Explorer on your desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu. If you do not see the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu, look in the Programs or the All Programs folders on the Start menu.

2. Right-click and drag the Internet Explorer icon from the Start menu to your desktop, and then click Create Shortcuts Here, or click Copy Here.

A shortcut to Internet Explorer is created on your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.


Note To create a desktop shortcut to Internet Explorer for other users, log on to your computer as another user, and then repeat this method for each user.

Note If you cannot locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu, follow these alternative steps:

1. Carefully select and then copy the following command:

Important Make sure that you select the quotation marks (“) at the beginning and end of this command.

2. Right-click a blank space on your desktop, point to New, and then click Shortcut.

3. In the Create Shortcut Wizard, right-click the Type the location of the item box, and then click Paste to paste the command that you copied in step 1.

4. Click Next.

5. In the Type a name for this shortcut box, type Internet Explorer.

6. Click Finish.

A shortcut to Internet Explorer is created on your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.

For non-Windows 7 users:

Important Windows 7 no longer supports the ability to modify the registry to get the special Internet Explorer icon to appear on your desktop. This change was made to ensure Internet Explorer could be removed easily for compliance reasons. The only way to add the Internet Explorer icon to the desktop in Windows 7 is to create a shortcut as shown in 'For Windows 7 users' section.

To create a shortcut to Internet Explorer on your desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu. If you do not see the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu, look in the Programs or the All Programs folders on the Start menu.

2. Right-click and drag the Internet Explorer icon from the Start menu to your desktop, and then click Create Shortcuts Here, or click Copy Here.

A shortcut to Internet Explorer is created on your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.

Note If you cannot locate the Internet Explorer icon on the Start menu or if you want to add a special Internet explorer icon on your desktop, follow these alternative steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run. Or, click Start Search if it is available.

2. In the Open box or in the Start Search box, type Notepad, and then press ENTER.

3. Carefully copy and paste the following text into Notepad.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
 
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\ClassicStartMenu]
"{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000

4. On the File menu, click Save As.

5. In the File name box, type Ie.reg, and then save the file to your desktop.

6. Exit Notepad.

7. Double-click the Ie.reg file on the desktop.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.

8. In the Registry Editor dialog box that appears, click Yes, and then click OK.

The special Internet Explorer icon is added to your desktop. You can double-click this icon to open your home page in Internet Explorer.

To open Internet Options, right-click this icon, and then click Properties. To start Internet Explorer without add-ons, right-click this icon, and then click Start Without Add-ons.

1. Right-click your mouse on your Windows Vista desktop. Hover your cursor over "View" in the drop-down menu that pops up. A second menu panel will open.

2. Click the size option that best meets your needs. You may wish to take a moment to look at the size of each option ("Large," "Medium" and "Classic") in order to determine which icon size best suits your preferences.

3. In Windows Explorer you can do the same thing to change the size of the icons shown. Press and hold the "Ctrl" key and scroll up/down with your mouse wheel.

4. Alternatively, click on the small arrow near the "Views" button from the upper menu. A drop down menu will appear and you can select the size you want for the icons shown in Windows Explorer.