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Annoying homegroup icon


bigvalboy
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I have a homegroup icon on my PC that will not go away. I am running Windows 7. It's not hurting anything, but it's irritating. I have tried every "simple" fix offered on the Internet..ie: rebooting, hitting F5, changing my network settings, changing icon settings, changing my systems network etc. and when I right click the icon, I do not have an option to "delete" icon. The icon is not a shortcut. Although going into the registry is the only permanent fix, I have also heard that can cause a lot of damage if you really don't know what you're doing. I tried this morning, and got lost about half way through the process, so I backed out of it.

 

Does anyone know of another simple solution that might work, short of doing the last resort, unplugging and hauling it down to the Geek Squad, and have them remove the icon from my registry.

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I found this on the web, although I have not tried it.

 

 

How to remove HomeGroup network icon from the Windows 8 desktop

Delete the HomeGroup network icon from the desktop

By Jim Martin | PC Advisor | 11 August 14

 

 

If you like to keep your Windows desktop neat and tidy, you may not want the HomeGroup networking icon to be shown on your Windows 8 desktop.

 

It isn't a simple case of highlighting it and deleting it, however. There are various ways to remove it, one of which is to use the Personalisation options in the Control Panel.

 

Here's how to get rid of the HomeGroup icon on your PC orlaptop.

 

Step 1: From the Windows 8 Start Screen, search for 'Show or hide common icons on the desktop'. Alternatively, right-click on the desktop in the bottom-left corner to show the small menu which includes Control Panel. From there, click Appearance and Personalisation, then Personalisation. Finally, click Change desktop icons on the left.

 

http://cdn3.pcadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/features/3443389/Remove_HomeGroup_icon_Windows_8_1_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Even if the box next to Network is unticked, click it to enable it, then disable it again. (If it's ticked to start with, untick it).

 

http://cdn3.pcadvisor.co.uk/cmsdata/features/3443389/Remove_HomeGroup_icon_Windows_8.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3: Click OK and you should find the HomeGroup icon has gone from the desktop.

 

There seems to be a bug where the HomeGroup icon can reappear at random. It's simple enough to run through this quick process when that happens, but hopefully a future Windows update will fix this problem.

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Although going into the registry is the only permanent fix, I have also heard that can cause a lot of damage if you really don't know what you're doing.

 

This is actually true. An errant registry hack can turn your computer into a brick.

 

BUT, note that the approach given by Karl-G (which should work) actually does the same registry edit you'd otherwise be doing manually. It's just a more friendly way of doing it.

 

If you know what you're doing, registry hacking is really an important tool. If you don't, it's mondo dangerous. It's one of the things I'd recommend hands-down you go to Geek Squad for. (And they could screw it up, too. :eek:)

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Thanks for the advice. I tried that this morning, actually a few times, and my homegroup icon still will not go away. I guess the Geek Squad will be my next stop. I don't know why the icon bothers me so much. At this point, I just want it gone.

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