How to Hide and Disable all the items on the Desktop in Windows Vista?


By applying this setting all the items i.e. files, folders, shortcuts and so on are not displayed on the Desktop. However the users can gain access to the files using other methods such as Start menu.

You can hide and disable all the items on the Desktop in the following way:

1) Open Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to the branch

Use Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Desktop in the left pane



Figure 1


2) Now double click the option Hide and disable all the items on the Desktop in the right pane

3) Select the dot Enabled to hide and disable all the items on the Desktop

Note: To show and enable all the items on the Desktop, select the Not Configured or Disabled dot.



Figure 2


4) Click Apply and then OK button

5) Log off and then Log on for the changes to take effect