Desktop.ini Opens in Notepad on Windows 8 Startup: How to Fix
It isn’t actually a problem but I was just curious to know why do I get welcomed by a Desktop.ini file in Notepad on Windows 8 Startup. One thing was sure that it isn’t any trojan to be removed because I believe in Bitdefender Antivirus installed on my system.
Small search on this issue revealed that this problem was also in Windows 7 but solving procedure was little different.
Desktop.ini file reads something like this on Windows 8 PRO:
[.ShellClassInfo] LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21787
How to Fix:
- Open Windows Explorer (Press WIN+E)
- Paste the following address in Address bar: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp
- Right click on desktop.ini file and access properties.
- Click on “Hidden” and Apply >> OK.
- Restart / Reboot PC and you won’t see any notepad file on next startup.
What is desktop.ini file by the way?
Desktop.ini is a configuration file which Windows uses to identify how a folder should be displayed.
Entries in the desktop.ini file can define a special icon, a tooltip, or a special name, among other things. In particular, a desktop.ini file identifies the folder that corresponds to the Startup menu.
It is not a trojan or malware. Just attributes of file were changed manually / by mistake or by some 3rd party application. You are making it hidden again and it stops executing on startup.
Watch the Video tutorial to solve the problem going through step by step:
