How to restore My Computer, Recycle Bin, and other Windows icons to your Win 8.1 desktop

By Konrad Krawczyk July 18, 2014

how to revive my computer recycle bin windows icons in 8 1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

At this point, Windows 8 is approaching two years of age. If you’ve recently abandoned Windows XP in favor of the new OS, or you’re a student who just bought a new computer while making the jump from Windows 7, it’s possible that your desktop doesn’t contain all of the classic desktop icons you might have grown so accustomed to over the years. I’m talking about things like My Computer, Control Panel, Recycle Bin, My Documents, and Network.

This wouldn’t be so bad if you can just click on the Start menu like in Windows 7 and open them right from there, but considering that there is no real Start menu in Windows 8.1 (for now), your best bet for getting quick and easy access to these parts of Windows is by telling the OS to restore those icons to your desktop. Don’t know how to pull it off? We’ll show you!

How to restore classic Windows icons to your Window 8.1 desktop

If you’re at the desktop, press the Windows key on your keyboard and type “Recycle Bin.” Windows’ Search charm will immediately pull up some results. One of those should be called “Show or hide common icons on the desktop.” Click on it, and by doing so, you will open a small window called “Desktop Icon Settings.” Keep in mind that Microsoft has renamed My Computer to This PC.

There’s just one tab in this window, populated by five check boxes. Each of these boxes will have one of the classic Windows icons next to them. If any of those icons aren’t on the desktop, it’s because the check boxes next to each of them is blank. Click on the check boxes next each icon that you want to populate your desktop with, and click “Apply,” then hit “OK.” Voila, you’re done! The icons should be back to where you’re used to seeing them.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Konrad Krawczyk

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…

Computing

Brighter isn’t better for OLED monitors. An expert told me the surprising reason why

An OLED gaming monitor showing an HDR demo.

"That's just too dim."

It's the same feedback I always get when reviewing OLED gaming monitors, which have made waves throughout this year. The criticism puts a damper on the otherwise jaw-dropping color and perfect contrast. The brightness measurements certainly seem to affirm that suspicion, showing they sometimes provide more than half as much brightness of a traditional LCD display. But are they really too dim?

Computing

One of Samsung’s best curved monitors is $600 off for the holidays

The Samsung Odyssey G9 monitor on a desk in an apartment.

Samsung has one of the best monitor deals for avid gamers who want their games to sparkle on screen. Today, you can buy the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor for $900, saving a huge $600 off the regular price of $1,500. A fantastic investment for anyone keen to enjoy a truly immersive gaming experience, it’s part of Samsung’s cyber week deals season so don’t count on it sticking around for long. Here’s what we know about it.

Why you should buy the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor
Keen to rival the best gaming monitors, the Samsung 49-inch Odyssey G9 DQHD QLED Curved Gaming Monitor is perfect for immersive gaming. It’s Samsung’s largest 1000R gaming monitor, matching the curve of the human eye while offering the screen space of two 27-inch panels.

Computing

This Alienware gaming laptop with an RTX 4090 is $700 off today

A person types on an Alienware M15 at a desk.

One of the best gaming laptop deals comes, predictably, from Dell. Today, you can buy the Alienware m16 gaming laptop for $2,800 thereby saving $700 off the usual price of $3,500. A high-end gaming laptop, this is one that will prove to be a fantastic investment for your gaming future. If you’re keen to learn more, take a look below at what we have to say about it or simply hit the buy button to get straight to the specs and making a purchase.

Why you should buy the Alienware m16 gaming laptop
Alienware is responsible for many of the best gaming laptops with a penchant for offering high-end hardware. This particular model boasts a 13th-generation Intel Core i9 processor teamed up with a huge 32GB of memory and 2TB of SSD storage. Continuing its powerhouse reputation, it also has an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with 16GB of dedicated VRAM. That’s a fantastic set of specs to ensure that you won’t have any trouble playing the latest games for a long time to come. If you’re looking ahead and want to make sure you can play games in style for a while to come, this is the solution for you. It won’t become out of date any time soon.