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Windows XP Timesaving Techniques For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Cleaning Up Old Desktop Icons
Adapted From: Windows XP Timesaving Techniques For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Your Windows XP desktop is a great place to park things for short periods of time, but a lousy place for organizing anything long-term. Start by cleaning up the mess that's there right now.

  1. Right-click an empty location on the desktop and click Properties, Desktop.

  2. Click Customize Desktop.

  3. Click Clean Desktop Now.

  4. Click Next. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard scans only for shortcuts. It doesn't even look at other kinds of files or folders (or zipped/compressed folders). Follow this procedure all the way to the end to move all your unused, or rarely used, desktop items. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard presents the results of its scan.

  5. Review the shortcuts with check marks next to them, and feel free to check any shortcuts that you don't expect to use in the near future.

  6. Click Next, and then click Finish. All the shortcuts you checked are shuffled to a folder on the desktop called Unused Desktop Shortcuts.

  7. Click OK twice to clear out the dialog boxes.


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