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 add the special Internet Explorer icon to your desktop, follow these 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.
   
   
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   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.

Next steps

• To verify that you fixed the problem, look for the Internet Explorer icon on your desktop. If the icon does not appear, either restart your computer or right-click a blank area on the desktop and then click Refresh. If the icon still does not appear on the desktop,

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