June 13, 2017

Remove Homegroup icon from desktop in Windows 10

Remove Homegroup icon from desktop in Windows 10: If you restart your PC and suddenly Homegroup icon start to appear on the desktop out of nowhere, what would you do? Obviously, you will try to delete the icon as you don’t have any use of the Homegroup which has suddenly appeared on your desktop. But even when you try to delete the icon when you again start your PC you will find the icon again on your desktop, so deleting the icon in the first place isn’t very helpful.

Remove Homegroup icon from desktop in Windows 10

The main cause of this is when sharing is ON the homegroup icon will be placed on the desktop by default, if you disable sharing the icon will go away. But there is more than one method to remove Homegroup icon from desktop in Windows 10 which we would discuss today in the below-listed troubleshooting guide.

Pro Tip: Right-click on the desktop and select Refresh, this may be able to fix your issue, if not then continue with the guide below.

Remove Homegroup icon from desktop in Windows 10

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something goes wrong.

Method 1: Disable Sharing Wizard

1.Open File Explorer by pressing Windows Key + E.

2.Now click View then click on Options.

change folder and search options

3.In the Folder Options window switch to View tab.

4.Scroll down till you find “Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended)” and uncheck this option.

Uncheck Use Sharing Wizard (Recommended) in Folder Options

5.Click Apply followed by OK. Reboot your PC to save changes.

6.Again go back to Folder Options and recheck the option.

Method 2: Uncheck Network in Desktop Icon Settings

1.Right-click in an empty area on the desktop and select Personalize.

right click on the desktop and select personalize

2.Now from the left-hand side menu select Themes and then click on Desktop icon settings.

select Themes from left hand menu then click Desktop icon settings

3.In the Desktop Icon Settings window uncheck Network.

uncheck Network under Desktop Icon Settings

4.Click Apply followed by OK. This would definitely remove Homegroup icon from desktop but if you’re still seeing the icon then continue with the next method.

Method 3: Turn Off Network Discovery

1.Press Windows Key + X then select Control Panel.

control panel

2.Now click Choose homegroup and sharing options under Network and Internet.

click Choose homegroup and sharing options under Control Panel

3.Under Share with other home computers click Change advanced sharing settings.

click Change advanced sharing settings

4.Next, check Turnoff Network discovery and click Save changes.

select Turn off network discovery

This may help you Remove Homegroup icon from desktop but if didn’t then continue.

Method 4: Leave Homegroup

1.Type Homegroup in Windows search bar and click HomeGroup Settings.

click HomeGroup in Windows Search

2.Then click “Leave the Homegroup” and then click Save changes.

click Leave the Homegroup button

3.Next, it will ask for confirmation so again click on Leave the homegroup.

Leave the Homegroup in order to remove Homegroup icon from desktop

3.Reboot your PC to save changes.

Method 5: Remove Homegroup Desktop Icon through Registry

1.Press Windows Key + R then type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.

Run command regedit

2.Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerHideDesktopIconsNewStartPanel

3.Find the key {B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93} in the right window pane.

Remove Homegroup Desktop Icon through Registry

4.If you can’t find the above Dword then you need to create this key.

5.Right-click in an empty area in the registry and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value.

right click and select new DWORD

6.Name this key as {B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}.

7.Double-click on it and change it’s value to 1 if you want to remove the HomeGroup icon from the desktop.

change its value to 1 if you want Remove Homegroup Desktop Icon through Registry

Method 6: Disable Homegroup

1.Press Windows Key + R then type services.msc and hit Enter.

services windows

2.Scroll till you find HomeGroup Listener and HomeGroup Provider.

HomeGroup Lister and HomeGroup Provider services

3.Right-click on them and select Properties.

4.Make sure to set their startup type to disabled and if the services are running click on Stop.

set startup type to disabled

5.Reboot your PC to save changes and check if you were able to Remove Homegroup icon from desktop in Windows 10

Method 7: Delete the HomeGroup Registry Key

1.Press Windows Key + R then type regedit and hit Enter to open Registry Editor.

Run command regedit

2.Naviagte to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerDesktopNameSpace

3.Under NameSpace locate the key “{B4FB3F98-C1EA-428d-A78A-D1F5659CBA93}” then right-click on it and select Delete.

right click on the key under NameSpace and select Delete

4.Close Registry Editor and restart your PC.

Method 8: Run DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management)

It’s possible that Windows Files may be corrupt and you’re not able to disable homegroup then run DISM and again try the above steps.

1.Press Windows Key + X then select Command Prompt(Admin).

command prompt admin

2.Enter the following command in cmd and hit enter:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

cmd restore health system

2.Press enter to run the above command and wait for the process to complete, usually, it takes 15-20 minutes.

NOTE: If the above command doesn't work then try on the below: 
Dism /Image:C:offline /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:testmountwindows
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /Source:c:testmountwindows /LimitAccess

Note: Replace the C:RepairSourceWindows with the location of your repair source (Windows Installation or Recovery Disc).

3.After the DISM process if complete, type the following in the cmd and hit Enter: sfc /scannow

4.Let System File Checker run and once it’s complete, restart your PC.

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That’s it you have successfully Remove Homegroup icon from desktop in Windows 10 if you still have any queries regarding this post feel free to ask them in the comment’s section.