Vista - Safe Mode Deletes Web Link Icons From Desktop

From time to time I will add a Desktop link to a particular Web site, such as a support Web site or a speed test site. I will then assign a custom icon to the link for visual reference from shell32.dll or some other source. I have an icon folder for custom and extracted icons.

However, when I boot into Safe Mode, these custom icons disappear from the desktop, even though they are still listed under the link properties. When I reboot, these Web link icons are replaced with the standard Explorer icon. The properties show the custom icon, yet it is not displayed. I have to change the icon to a different icon to get a custom icon to display, changing to the prior icon fails to display it.

And yes, I have tried to assign the custom icons in Safe Mode as well, and in all but one instance they have failed to "take".

Yet another Vista x64 (HP laptop with Ultimate pre-install) bug/annoyance.

Why? What is the fix, if any?

just curious, why do you keep going into safe mode..?


if there is a problem with vista and you keep needing safe more, then the
icon bug is very small compared to the other problems... lol


"tvccs" <tvccs.34qt04@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net> wrote in message
news:tvccs.34qt04@xxxxxx-mx.forums.net...

Hi tvccs,

This will show you a couple of methods to use to create these desktop internet shortcuts without them defaulting back to the standard IE7 E icon on you.

Internet Shortcut

Shawn

Thanks for the help page...I'll try Read-Only for starters and see what happens...but it shouldn't happen in the first place in my little book, at least.

Thanks again.

I'm in Safe Mode alot because of doing maintenance, as well as trying to cope with the disaster that Vista x64 often is.

And for references sake, switching the Web icons to read-only did not prevent them from beling dumped coming out of Safe Mode. Switching to small icons does, but I don't want small icons. Again, why am I fighting Vista (again) here? Stupid and annoying. I will now try creating a custom link, which is a bass-ackwards way of doing it. I send the link to the Desktop for the sake of convenience, not to turn it into a "project" other than assigning an icon.

tvccs,

I agree. I do not like the small icons either. Creating a normal shortcut was the only way that I could find to workaround the problem. Hopefully the net will allow sites to start using larger icons for the URL Favicon to allow a larger icon for the desktop.

Shawn

Thank you for the followup. I tried your Plan B by creating a new link, and it still had the same issues, showing an icon in Properties it refused to load on the Desktop the same as the one I deleted. And one of the icons it dumped had variants of 16,32,48 and 256 sizes, so that doesn't appear to be the issue either.

More Vista bizarro for no reason. it shouldn't be this difficult to do something this simple. I know someone at MS decided Desktops and Program lists were too "cluttered" and had to dumb them down to what "most users used most", but some of us who work with this stuff actually want more control, not less, the anathema to nearly all things Windows for years. It's gotten out of control, and I have to fix this stuff and write about it for a major newspaper group. The solutions for Vista issues are usually so complex I am unwilling to even suggest "Joe Average" attempt many of them without a major walkthrough. Again, defeating the point.

Thanks again, I'll see if I can find what the hell is going on with this stuff, but I am baffled to this point.

Brink, I was having the same problem with "assigned" icons, although I have
no idea what he's talking about regarding "Safe Mode". I tried your solution
"Method Two: For Using a Normal Shortcut", and it worked perfectly. So far,
so good. Thanks much! You have no idea how much this was frustrating me that
it wouldn't let me assign my preferred icons to my favorite website links.
(Note: Initially my assigned icons worked fine for several weeks, no problem.
Then after some sort of "automatic update" by Microsoft, they disappeared
right before my eyes! No matter what I did only default icons appeared on my
desktop, and I couldn't change them back no matter what I did.) Again, thanks
for the help!

"Brink" wrote:

Your welcome SRS. Thank you for the feedback.

Shawn