Why are my Windows Desktop icons displaying in a panel?

Q I let my grandchildren use my computer. However, since my last grandson’s go on the PC, I find that as well as all the usual icons on the Windows Desktop it now displays a panel on the left-hand side that shows three dropdown options: Folder Tasks, Other Places and Details.

I have tried everything to get rid of this panel but without success.
Tony Berkeley

A This is a known bug in Windows XP. In brief, a corrupt value in the Windows Registry means that the Windows Desktop is treated just like any other folder.

As such, Windows XP displays the Desktop replete with the Common Tasks pane that appears on other folders.

With normal folders, this can be disabled by selecting Folder Options from the Tools menu and then choosing the ‘Use Windows classic folders’ radio button on the General tab. However, this trick cannot be used when Common Tasks appear on the Desktop, because the menu bar does not exist.

There is a fix for this bug, but it does entail editing the Registry. This is not difficult, but be aware that if you make a mistake while tweaking the Registry you could render your PC unstable or even unusable. Before beginning, then, back up your important files and folders (we will explain how to back up the existing Registry settings as we go).

First, click Start followed by Run. In the Run box, type regedit and press Enter. To back up the current Registry settings, choose Export from the File menu, type a name for the backup file, choose a destination to save it to and then click Save. Take a backup of this file and, if you make a mistake while editing the Registry, use the Import option on the File menu to restore the settings from this file.

In the left-hand side of the Registry Editor window, click the plus (‘+’) symbols until you find the entry called: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\shellex\ExtShellFolderViews\{5984FFE0-28D4-11CF-AE66-08002B2E1262}.

Click to highlight it. In the right-hand pane, look for an entry called ‘PersistMoniker’. If it’s there, right-click it and choose Modify from the pop-up menu. In the Value data field, type file://%userappdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop.htt and then click OK.

If the PersistMoniker value doesn’t exist, right-click on a blank part of the right-hand pane in the Registry Editor and choose New followed by String Value. Type PersistMoniker in the Name column and press Enter.

Now enter the text given above into the Value data field. Restart your PC and the Common Tasks Pane should be no more.