Lost "Desktop" shortcut/tile in Metro UI

CDJay

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Lost "Desktop" AND "Store" shortcut/tile in Metro UI

Gradually getting my head around W8 CP, however after a recent reboot the tile for "desktop" is now gone under metro.

Any ideas how to restore? If I right click and browse all apps it isn't present.

Having navigated to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs" I can't see a desktop shortcut there but I'm fairly sure there was one before. If someone could give me the information to recreate it as it appears on their system it would be most appreciated!

Cheers

CDJay
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 CP

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Cheers, it's not quite "as was" but it's a damn sight better than nothing! :D

Still, If anyone any ideas on how to get the default double-width metro icon back (without too much pain ;)) that'd be great
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 CP
OK, even more concerningly, the "Store" metro tile is gone too. Nowhere to be found in apps, or when searching.

Help!

CDJay
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 CP
OK, even more concerningly, the "Store" metro tile is gone too. Nowhere to be found in apps, or when searching.

Help!

CDJay

See if this helps.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire E1-571
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer Type-2
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Sound Card
    High Definiton Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256GB
    PSU
    Generic
    Keyboard
    QWERTY
    Mouse
    ELANTECH Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    12.68Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Much appreciated guys, the desktop icon is now how it was and the "More PC Settings" works as before.

Still can't get the store to work though; I can find a shortcut but it's in the windows folder and has "notused" as a Target in %HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%

It looks like I managed to do the same thing as JohnPombrio, from the latter thread/link.

If anyone can let me know what their working icon has as a target then I'll stop asking stupid questions. For now ;)

CDJay
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 CP
I found the location, I'll keep trying to amend the lnk and get it to show up in metro.

%windir%\WinStore\WinStoreUI.dll

for those interested. :)

CDJay
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 CP
It won't let me edit the existing store shortcut, and duplicating it / amending isn't working. Still, I don't *need* the store atm ;)

CDJay
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 CP
It won't let me edit the existing store shortcut, and duplicating it / amending isn't working. Still, I don't *need* the store atm ;)

CDJay

Ignore this, it's me being a twonk! See next posts.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
It should work. copy and paste any of the found shortcuts as long as the icon looks the same as the ones I found. Paste it into the Microsoft.Store_8wekyb3d8bbwe (or whatever it is for your machine). I also wiped out my more PC settings and there was no way to recover THAT without a REFRESH.

2012-03-09 Windows store.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
    PSU
    Corsair-750
    Case
    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
    Cooling
    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
Curiously enough, the shortcut for the store, on this VM, is under C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs and not C:\Users\{User Name}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Application Shortcuts, as some are.

Edit: Just confirmed, if I remove the shortcut from the location mentioned above, the 'Store' is unavailable when searching from the Start page. if I add the shortcut back to that location, 'Store' becomes available from search and thus can be 'pinned'
 

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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
< busily rooting around in all those hidden files> Heh, I found MY store Icon under
C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Hidden
.
No store icon to find under All Users for me tho and mine says Windows Store just like the original.

2012-03-09 Store 2.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
    PSU
    Corsair-750
    Case
    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
    Cooling
    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
I have no idea why these should be different. I just booted into my 'bear metal' 8 installation, and everything is the same as described earlier. On both I have two shortcuts, one called Store and one called Windows Store.

The 'Windows Store' shortcut is in:

C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-store-client-ui_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.8250.0_none_9c947011c1a490cf

Along with most of the other files related to the store. the other is located in:

C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
Thanks Calico!

Did a search on "Windows Store" and found the 3 instances that Calico and I together have found. The one common to us (besides the one that is IN the normal Microsoft.Store{etc}) is the last one that Calico found:

C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-store-client-ui_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.8250.0_none_9c947011c1a490cf

I guess that is the one that should be used for rebuilding the Windows store app. I tried a copy and replace using this location into the Windows Store app folder and it works fine.

The desktop Icon for Metro apps is located at:

C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-twinui_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.8250.0_none_57dee59f178a579d

Both of these Icons go into the app data folder under these names (note that the number/letter part is different with each instance of Win8.) GOOD IDEA to BACK UP this folder somewhere! It is a pain to rebuild!

2012-03-10 App data.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit GA
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i7-4770K Haswell
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB of Corsair 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 780
    Sound Card
    Cooler Master Storm Headphones
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 27 inch U2711 IPS
    Screen Resolution
    2560 by 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Pro 250GB SSD plus 2 3 TB drives
    PSU
    Corsair-750
    Case
    Corsair White Graphite Series 600T
    Cooling
    Corsair H00i Water
    Keyboard
    Corsair K90
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser
    Internet Speed
    6.3 MBps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MS
So I had several of these tiles that I managed to delete, pretty easy fix, I booted my secondary computer, opened the C:\Users\All Users\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs folder, copied the missing shortcuts and pasted them into the same folder on my messed up computer, and it restored them exactly how they were before.

Anyways, here's a zip with Desktop, Store and PC Settings. I'm not sure how well this will work for everyone else, but it's worth a shot.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2246049/Start Screen Icon Restore.zip
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP E9120F
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 910
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6670

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 Media Center Edition
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Made
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 750
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD HD 7750
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama ProLite B2481HS-B1
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1x 120 GB SSD Samsung 830;
    1x 1.5 TB HDD Seagate;
    1x 2 TB HDD Western Digital;
    1x 3 TB HDD Seagate
    1x 80 GB SSD Vertex 2
    PSU
    Corsair CX 600
    Case
    Corsair Carbide 300R with Side Window
    Cooling
    Intel RTS2011 LC
    Keyboard
    DasKeyboard (blue switches)
    Mouse
    Wacom Baboo Tablet Pen & Touch
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbit FullDuplex Fiberglass
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    I also own the following Microsoft devices:
    * Surface Pro 2 128 GB
    * Windows Phone HTC 8X
I just had this issue on a client's laptop running Win 8.1 and typed desktop on the Metro interface. When the desktop app came up, I right clicked on it and pinned it to the start menu, then drug it back where it was supposed to go. I have no idea what caused it to disappear in the first place.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1x64 pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Homebrew
    CPU
    i5-2500k
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V Pro
    Memory
    16 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x 19 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    1.5GB
    2 GB
    3GB external
    Case
    Antec Solo
    Antivirus
    Avast free
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