Faded (greyed out) icons on desktop

Undergoing updates?

Tim

Go to the icon on your desktop

Right click on it (use the right hand button on the mouse or touch pad to click on it)

In the pop up menu that appears select "properties"

The in the next popup menu select the "general" tab

Then you should see in the attributes section the options for "read only" and "hidden"

If "hidden" is ticked then un-tick it and select the apply button.

Administrator terminal:

# Assumes partition has not lost its USN journal. # Sample filename is just the example in my notes file. # The number returned, has bit fields which are the Attributes. #

fsutil usn readdata Y:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log

# This is the decoder table. A file can have several bits set, # and the sum total of several bit field binary values, totals to the # quantity that has been read out.

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_READONLY = 1 (0x1) \ <=== This is NOT really readonly... Stop focusing on this! FILE_ATTRIBUTE_HIDDEN = 2 (0x2) \ These are the original Attributes from MSDOS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SYSTEM = 4 (0x4) / dir /ah * kind of thing

FILE_ATTRIBUTE_DIRECTORY = 16 (0x10) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ARCHIVE = 32 (0x20) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL = 128 (0x80) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_TEMPORARY = 256 (0x100) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_SPARSE_FILE = 512 (0x200) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_REPARSE_POINT = 1024 (0x400) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_COMPRESSED = 2048 (0x800) # This is old compression on NTFS. New Compression is a Reparse Point. FILE_ATTRIBUTE_OFFLINE = 4096 (0x1000) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NOT_CONTENT_INDEXED = 8192 (0x2000) FILE_ATTRIBUTE_ENCRYPTED = 16384 (0x4000) # This is EFS, not Bitlocker

# That can give you some idea of what the Attributes of a file are. # Files have many other details.

*******

From this ZIP, locate nfi.exe executable. This is a utility from a long time ago (more than 20 years), which lists the filenames of the files in NTFS. The command example assumes we have unpacked the ZIP download and extracted the "nfi.exe" file sitting in Downloads folder.

(administrator command prompt so the CD command will work OK )

cd /d %userprofile%\Downloads nfi c: > list.txt notepad list.txt

# It's a really small executable.

Name: nfi.exe Size: 21744 bytes (21 KiB) SHA256: 6D8AD6DA2ECC720F801CA58BD8A1FC0447C7BC2A08977C5EC099507959CC122E

# These are examples of files on my desktop. They come from two folders # as potential sources of desktop program icons. These are two program icons.

File 2260 \Users\Public\Desktop\MonInfo.lnk <=== Moninfo program from EntechTaiwan $STANDARD_INFORMATION (resident) Linkage points to Program Files storage location... $FILE_NAME (resident) $DATA (nonresident) logical sectors 336-343 (0x150-0x157)

File 10600 \Users\paul\Desktop\Meshmixer.lnk <=== Meshmixer program for some kind of CAD file $STANDARD_INFORMATION (resident) $FILE_NAME (resident) $FILE_NAME (resident) $DATA (nonresident) logical sectors 2848-2855 (0xb20-0xb27)

fsutil usn readdata C:\Users\Public\Desktop\MonInfo.lnk

File Attributes : 0x20 <=== That's the Archive bit, related to backups The second file has the same attribute. This is a very weak attribute, as attributes go.

The permissions model, I don't understand it well enough to comment. However, you can run the commands on your .lnk files, once you figure out or guess the names (by known construct) and run them. Note that to further complicate the permissions model, a file can "inherit" permissions from the level above, and permissions capabilities include ALLOW and DENY. Using DENY is generally not recommended, as it is enough trouble figuring out what the permissions are, when only ALLOW is used.

icacls can output directly, or store the permissions model in a text file for later "playback" and permissions restoration. Note that when stored in a text file, a compact notation is used, which is even harder to discern. There is a little trick, for restoring permissions at the very top of a partition. You can't play back the file, without editing it and fixing it, when doing one of those starting at the very top of the disk.

*An icon might be gray, if the thing it points to is gone...*

******* # You can see permissions in the Properties dialog for a file, in File Explorer.

icacls C:\Users\Public\Desktop\MonInfo.lnk C:\Users\Public\Desktop\MonInfo.lnk BUILTIN\Administrators:(I)(F) NT AUTHORITY\INTERACTIVE:(I)(RX) NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(I)(F) S-1-5-21-3407405234-1171005867-2411829197-1000:(I)(DE,DC) WALLACE\paul:(I)(DE,DC)

******* icacls C:\Users\Public\Desktop\MonInfo.lnk /save outfile.txt

MonInfo.lnk # The line has been manually edited at the parenthesis level, for clarity D:AI(A;ID;FA;;;BA) <=== Administrator account (A;ID;0x1200a9;;;IU) (A;ID;FA;;;SY) <=== SYSTEM account (A;ID;DTSD;;;S-1-5-21-3407405234-1171005867-2411829197-1000) <=== OS has three user accounts registered (A;ID;DTSD;;;S-1-5-21-3407405234-1171005867-2411829197-1001) <=== This must be paul

*******

The 3407405234-1171005867-2411829197 part is a tuple unique to the OS install. In the example on this page, the informal shorthand "do-ma-in" refers to that set of randomly assigned numbers at installation time.

S-1-5-21-do-ma-in-500 (local?) Administrator <=== administrator is 500, users start at 1000

*******

Notice that I haven't answered your question. We would need to get that guy who invented the scheme, as he is the only one who understands it (he wrote a book).

*An icon might be gray, if the thing it points to is gone...*

I think this has a higher probability, than that you whacked all the file permissions in a "horrific icacls accident" :-)

Check that the Program Files, if that's what these were, still exist. If you attempted to move your Program Files, well, just, wow...

Paul (i.e. user 1001 :-) )

Great stuff - this seems to have done it :-)

Following upon yesterday's success, is there an easy way of getting the proper BBC News icon on my desktop? I have tried downloading the logo, opening it in Paint then saving it as a BMP file but all I get is an indistinct image in a black box. If I drag it from the BBC site, I get the generic Chrome icon. With every version of Windows, populating the desktop seems to become more difficult.

The BBC's latest favicons look a bit rubbish, I found a better one from Google image search, which I use as the icon on my firefox start tab, rather than on the desktop

Thanks very much, but what I am really asking is how do I get the red central square as the final icon without all the black surroundings? I have tried cropping it (using Paint) before saving as a BMP file, but I cannot get this to work.

I don't think there's any black border in the image I linked to

but in general you want to try cropping with an image editor that supports layers and transparent pixels (gimp, photoshop, paint.net) before exporting.

Maybe it is my settings but the image displays as 3.5 cm across with nearly all of the rest of the screen a black background. This is what I was referring to.

But that black background isn't baked into the image, it's just provided by the browser, if you drag the red square around, you'll see as it passes over other parts of the GUI.

Thanks. After a lot of experimentation I have now done it!

I thought I had at least. I have set up various icons but they keep disappearing. Each time I have created a BMP file (from a downloaded image) then used the 'Change icon' option. It starts off okay then later the image in the icon disappears and leaves a blank white icon.

When I asked CoPilot, I was told to use a .ico file .

My question could easily have been out of context, so take this with a grain of salt.

My navigation tool of choice, is a copy of 7ZIP, the Windows Can Opener :-)

Name: 7z1900.exe Size: 1,185,968 bytes (1158 KiB) SHA256: 759AA04D5B03EBEEE13BA01DF554E8C962CA339C74F56627C8BED6984BB7EF80

These are examples of .ico files .

[Picture]

Using Bash shell, I can list the format of the icons stored in the program. This does NOT mean they are perfect for reuse. Just that this is an example of .ico . Apparently the .ico format can have more stuff in it than shown.

file filename.ext # Tell us what is inside...

10: PNG image data, 256 x 256, 8-bit/color RGBA, non-interlaced 1.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 16x16, 16 colors 2.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 16x16 3.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 32x32, 16 colors 4.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 32x32 5.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 48x48, 16 colors 6.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 48x48 7.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 16x16 8.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 32x32 9.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 48x48 11.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 16x16, 16 colors 12.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 16x16, 16 colors 13.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 16x16 14.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 32x32, 16 colors 15.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 32x32 16.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 48x48, 16 colors 17.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 48x48 18.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 16x16 19.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 32x32 20.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 1 icon, 48x48 *******

"Well, Thanks for helping. Instead of using either of the icon converters i got, i went online and used ICOconvert, and for the image chose custom and multiple, so the icon is available for all sizes no matter which one you choose. VOILA! Now the shortcuts do enlarge. So you were exactly right. I though the 2 programs I have did make all the selections like ICOconvert did, but obviously not. But you nailed what the issue was and I thank you!! "

This is what I got, for my 200x200 stick man PNG input. The tool made an icon, but you can see the sizes are limited and perhaps an extra large icon is not present.

Name: sample_XO8_icon.ico Size: 183,198 bytes (178 KiB) SHA256: 7DFAB478C34236F8381BFE7AA6C3EF584610CD848AD501A0B4826E7000CEC3F5

$ file sample_XO8_icon.ico sample_XO8_icon.ico: MS Windows icon resource - 5 icons, 16x16, 32 bits/pixel, 24x24, 32 bits/pixel

The "file" command in Bash Shell at least told me it was a "multi" type, but it took Infanview and Extract Frames, to allow looking at the contents. These are the file icons stuffed in the .ico file, where the 200x200 is the size of my original submission as a PNG.

200x200 48x48 32x32 24x24 16x16

You can see I'm not much of an icon designer. This is the 48x48 frame.

[Picture]

Feeding a "stuffed" .ico , is so the OS has the best chance to change scales when it wants to. It has a single file reference, but it can see I am offering a variety of sizes, and pick the best one of those for the job.

Paul

Thanks. I have now tried this using a .ico file (converting online instead of re-saving using Microsoft Paint). Time will tell whether this endures or reverts.