Solved Clearing icons from desktop

munroe47

New Member
Messages
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I have received a new laptop from HP to replace my original purchase which turned out to have a defective keyboard. I am in the process of clearing my personal info/history from the defective computer before returning it to HP.

I have deleted all my files and have uninstalled all the programs that I installed. I also deleted the items shown in the "Desktop" directory (which were the shortcuts I created). That may have been a mistake because now I am attempting to clear the shortcut icons from the desktop, with no success! Since the files to which the shortcuts pointed have been deleted, I get a message telling me the file is no longer located in the "Desktop" directory (no kidding, I deleted it!). I can't delete them or even rename them or delete their names. I realize now that I should have deleted the shortcut icons before clearing the "Desktop" directory.

These shortcuts don't link to anything, but because their names give an indication of my personal interests, I would prefer to have them removed. I could reformat the drive, but I assume HP would like to get the machine back complete with all files that they originally supplied with it. I really don't want to do a restore and start over clearing my info.

Any suggestions?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 17t Select
    CPU
    4th Generation Intel Core i5-4200M
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 (2 Dimm)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAvee
Sorry guys, I jumped the gun with my very first post. I restarted the computer and all the icons are gone!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1 64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy 17t Select
    CPU
    4th Generation Intel Core i5-4200M
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 (2 Dimm)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics
    Browser
    Internet Explorer
    Antivirus
    McAvee
Make sure you delete all the System Restore points too, you'd be surprised how much stuff can be held there. You can also use Ccleaner to make sure other traces are cleaned up too.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home made
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen7 2700x
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime x470 Pro
    Memory
    16GB Kingston 3600
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus strix 570 OC 4gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 evo 250GB
    Silicon Power V70 240GB SSD
    WD 1 TB Blue
    WD 2 TB Blue
    Bunch of backup HDDs.
    PSU
    Sharkoon, Silent Storm 660W
    Case
    Raidmax
    Cooling
    CCM Nepton 140xl
    Internet Speed
    40/2 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    WD
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