How to get a really clean Windows Vista desktop

by Scott Nugati.
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Windows XP used to nag you every now and then to get unused icons off your desktop. (Mercifully, the Desktop Cleanup Wizard isn't part of Vista.)

But why stop there? If you've got the world's most beautiful desktop wallpaper set up, you might not want any icons marring its majesty.

If you think about it, you can get by just fine without a single icon on the desktop. The Computer and similar icons are waiting in your Start menu. You can put things into the Recycle Bin without dragging them to its icon. (Just highlight icons and then press the Delete key, for instance.)

The following regedit hack doesn't actually remove anything from your desktop. It just hides them. You can still work with the icons on your desktop by using Windows Explorer to view the contents of your Desktop folder, for example.

  • Run regedit.exe

  • Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software ->Microsoft ->Windows ->CurrentVersion ->Policies ->Explorer.

  • Double-click this value on the right side: NoDesktop. (If you don't see this value, create it. Right-click the Explorer folder, choose New ->Binary Value, and name the new value NoDesktop.)

  • Make this change: In the "Value data" box, type 01 00 00 00. (Regedit puts the spaces in automatically.) Click OK.

  • Wrap up: click OK, quit regedit, and then restart the PC. (To reverse the procedure, just delete the NoDesktop value you created.)

Tip: If you find your pulse racing with the illicit thrill of making tweaks to your system, why stop here? You can find hundreds more regedit "recipes" in books, computer magazines, and Web sites. A quick search of regedit hacks on Google will unearth plenty of them.
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