So i decided i don’t want any icons on my desktop permanently, but i want to be able to download stuff to desktop and then decide what to do with it ie. delete or file it. So hiding all the icons isnt an option. So i delete all my icons but of course the recyclebin cant be deleted. So i edit the registry to hide it. Refresh my desktop and where the f*** did my wallpaper go? I add an icon to the desktop-boom it comes back. grr >_< so i can’t have wall paper unless i have an icon. talk about stupid.
Try adding a single, hidden icon?
you can set the recycle bin icon in the display properties [on the desktop tab hit customize]… not sure where you’d find a transparent one though [they’d be pretty easy to make however]
if you have your desktop icons setup not to show [right click on the desktop, choose arrange icons by, and un-check show desktop icons] they can still be accessed in windows explorer [and so can the recycle bin]
I liked having icons on my desktop, but reinstalling video drivers [or crashing fullscreen applications] would always move them around… so I gave up on the idea altogether.
tried and failed.; ;
i have programs i want accessile docked in object dock, which has an icon for recycle bin, hence the desktop one being surplus to requirement.
i have programs i want accessile docked in object dock, which has an icon for recycle bin, hence the desktop one being surplus to requirement.[/quote]
in that case, does your desktop have to show any icons?
just because it doesn’t show anything doesn’t mean they aren’t there…
regardlesss, tweakui [one of the xp powertoys] will let you hide the recycle bin icon, even though the “display properties” does not
Maybe i wasn’t clear, i don’t want to see the recycle bin but i don’t want to have to hide everything. As far as i can tell, theres no way around this. All a piece of software will do is edit the registry to hide the recycle bin, but if i have no icons i won’t be able to see any icons.
Probably no clearer, but meh, i know what i mean.
This is a 32x32 completely transparent icon I whipped up in The GIMP.
Set the recycle bin icon to that, and rename it to " " or something similar.
That way you don’t have to do registry hacks to hide it, and windows thinks it’s still there.
And plus, you have an invisible hotspot on your desktop, so you can drag your files to a random part and they get deleted 
Thanks, this sorts the prob, tho i wont use it as the recyclebin as i still have to hack the registry for that.
First, let me see if I understand what you want to do. You want to “customize” your winxp desktop, so that it doesn’t show “My Pc” or “My Documents”, but the rest of the icons DO show.
It’s like z3r0 d said, right click on your desktop, go to “properties”, on the “desktop” tab, click on a button that should say something like “customize desktop” or something (just look for a button that has nothing to do with the wallpaper). And then a new window will appear, there you can set which icons you don’t want on your desktop… the rest of the icons you put there.
Hope that helps…
(Don’t mess with the registry… and invisible icons… hmm… not worth it)
(sorry for the lack of accuracy, i’m in a computer with a limited account, so I cannot verify what I just told you…)