How to Get a "My Computer" Icon on the Desktop in Windows 10

The My Computer icon was a fixture on Windows desktops for decades, but it was removed and renamed with the introduction of Windows 10. Now properly called "This PC," the icon must be added back manually. Here's how to get the This PC icon on your desktop. Mainstream and extended support for Windows 10 ended October 14, 2025. You are no longer receiving security updates. We strongly recommend upgrading to Windows 11. The steps below still work on Windows 10, but we prioritize Windows 11 paths where they differ. Add the This PC icon back to Windows 10 Windows 10 hides the This PC icon by default. You can bring it back in seconds. Right-click empty space on your desktop and select Personalize. In the Settings window, navigate to Personalization > Themes, then click Desktop icon settings under Related settings. In the small dialog that appears, tick the box next to Computer and click Apply. The This PC icon instantly returns to your desktop. While you are here, tick any other built-in icons you want visible. Windows 10 and 11 add the User's Files icon to this list, and you can also bring back the Control Panel if it has been hidden by recent updates. Just check the box and click Apply. To add the missing My Computer icon back to your desktop on Windows 10, right-click empty space on your Desktop and select "Personalize" from the context menu. Now select Themes on the left-hand menu, and then once you are there, select "Desktop Icon Settings" under the "Related Settings" section. Tick the box next to "Computer," then click "Apply" to restore the icon to your desktop. If you've noticed that there are other critical desktop icons missing — like Network, Recycle Bin, your User folder, or the legacy Control Panel — you can restore them in this window. Just tick the box next to the missing icons before clicking "Apply." Of course, as a final step, you can right-click the "This PC" icon on your desktop. You can also change those icons, if you want to add some custom flair to your Desktop. If you don't see any desktop icons at all, right-click the Windows desktop, point to "View," and ensure "Show Desktop Icons" is checked. If this option isn't checked, Windows will hide all your desktop icons, including the This PC or My Computer icon. Fix missing icons caused by OneDrive or a corrupted cache Before you dig into system settings, you need to rule out two common culprits that make desktop icons vanish or turn into blank white squares. OneDrive is backing up your Desktop folder If your icons are "missing" but your files are still on your PC, OneDrive has likely redirected your Desktop folder to its backup path. Open File Explorer, right-click the Desktop folder in the left sidebar, and select Properties. Check the Location tab. If it points to a OneDrive path, click Restore Default or Move to point it back to C:\Users\[YourName]\Desktop. Blank white squares mean a broken icon cache Blank white squares don't mean your icons are gone; they mean Windows forgot what they look like. Clearing the icon cache forces a refresh. Press Win + R, paste %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer, and hit Enter. Delete every file starting with iconcache or thumbcache. Restart your PC, and your icons will snap back to normal. Windows 11, by default, also keeps most of the important icons off your desktop. The process for restoring desktop icons on Windows 11, including the This PC icon, is basically the same as on Windows 10. Right-click the Desktop and click personalize. Then navigate to Themes > Desktop Icon Settings. Once there, tick the box next to "Computer," then click "Apply" to place it on your Desktop. If you're using an older version of Windows like Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows Vista, here's how to get the My Computer icon back. First, right-click on the desktop and choose Personalize, then click on "Change Desktop Icons" on the left-hand side of the screen. Choose which of the built-in icons to show on the desktop in the Desktop Icons panel. You can also add the Recycle Bin back from the same menu. To put the Computer icon on the desktop, click the Start button, and then right-click on "Computer." Click the "Show on Desktop" item in the menu, and your Computer icon will show up on the desktop. Your icons are only hidden Your icons have been deleted The first problem is easy to fix. Right-click empty space on your desktop, then mouse over "View" and click "Show Desktop Icons." This works on Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows Vista. If that doesn't display them, then your icons are probably gone. You'll have to try restoring them from the Recycle Bin. If they've been permanently deleted, you can always just create a new desktop shortcut to replace the old one. If you're really into customizing Windows, you can also create a new icon out of just about any image you want.