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18 October 2019  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
Sometimes, Windows users find that the desktop icons have gone. Or, the system throws you an error saying that desktop location is not available although the icons are on the desktop. How to solve this problem? In this essay, we will list some methods to you.



For convenience, many people are used to placing files on the desktop. Yet, the icons suddenly disappear. Next, we will provide you with some solutions and hope you try them one by one.
desktop location is not available in windows

Solution 1: Switch User

If you are not the author of the files, the desktop location is not available for you. Windows allows users to create one or more accounts in an operating system. If you log in one account, the files location created by the others cannot be available for you.

If you want to open these files, you need to change the log-in account. Here are steps:

① Press the keys [Ctrl + Alt + Delete].

open task manager
② In the following window, click [Switch user] and select the other accounts.
switch user when desktop location is not available in windows
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Solution 2: Show Desktop Icons

You can also check whether the files have been hidden.

1. On the desktop, right-click at any place and select [View] > [Show desktop icons]. If there is no check next to this option, you should click to check it.

check to view desktop icons in windows
2. If the icons still cannot be shown, you can try these steps:

Open [This PC] > [Windows10(C:)] > [Users]. Then, go to the folder of the target account where all individual files are stored. Double-click at [Desktop] and see whether you can find out the files.

open desktop folder in pc if the desktop location is not available
If the above method doesn’t work, you can check [Hidden items] in the tab [View] to show all hidden files.
show hidden items in windows

Solution 3: Recover Files by Renee Undeleter

If your computer has gone through the following situations, it is possible that the desktop location is not available:

  • Reinstall/upgrade Windows but not select [Keep my files]
  • Sudden power failure during the upgrade
  • Virus attack
  • Delete desktop files by yourself

Facing these situations, you can use Renee Undeleter to recover the files.

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Steps:

① At first, open Renee Undelter. Then, select [Whole Partition Scan]. This function is suitable for the drive whose file system is severely damaged.

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② Select the target drive and click [Next] to go on.

③ Wait for scanning. The scan time depends on the capacity of the drive. If it is large, the scan time will be long.

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④ The scan results will be listed at the left side. Double-click to preview the files and check them. Finally, click [Recover] to save the files.
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