[Morgaledh]

First, all of this is new. I've used Vista Ultimate flawlessly for a long time, nothing new has happened (no new programs) I swear this just showed up. I know people say that all the time, but really, I'm not computer illiterate and really, I didnt' change anything. I promise.

So, I keep my desktop clear and use the Desktop Shortcut toolbar (lower right hand, next to the notification area) to navigate to my programs. For as long as I can remember, when I click down there, I would see TWO shortcuts, the ONLY ONES on my desktop: 1. Shortcuts (I made this one, takes me to my shortcuts folder, where I put.. all my shortcuts), and 2. Recycle Bin.

Now, when I click down there, I see this:

Public
Computer
Network
The Internet (IE logo... I use Firefox)
Control Panel.

Ok, you say, no problem, just go to Personalize>Change Desktop Icons and unclick all of those. But wait.. they aren't clicked there. They aren't. So I have links in my desktop toolbar that ARE NOT on my desktop. If I right click them in my desktop toolbar and select Delete, they do delete, but if I then click on the desktop toolbar again, they are back again. So how do I get rid of the links in the desktop toolbar that A. were never, ever there before, B. I did not put there, and C. are not, in fact, actually on my desktop?

But it gets even better!

Public folder, you know the one, it's at C:/Users/Public, right? Sure, mine is there... and it is also linked in my desktop toolbar. But watch this: when I go to Start>Computer> what do I see? Desktop has Public, but so does Computer>C:>Users>Public. This one, when I right click it, I get the option to see Properties. When I right click the Public folder under Desktop (that is, Start>Computer>Desktop>Public, I don't have a choice to see Properties, to Delete, or anything.

What is going on here? I want my desktop toolbar unhijacked, and I'd like to know why Public seems to be in two places now, one of which I can do nothing with.

Specs are below if they help. I can also screenshot all of this if you think it will help. Thanks in advance!

Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.1
OS Version: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate , Service Pack 2, 32 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9400 @ 2.66GHz, x64 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 10
Processor Count: 4
RAM: 3325 Mb
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT, 1024 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 76308 MB, Free - 10487 MB; E: Total - 2861578 MB, Free - 1898106 MB; F: Total - 34064 MB, Free - 14055 MB; G: Total - 4082 MB, Free - 3061 MB;
Motherboard: ASUSTeK Computer INC., P5N-D, 1.XX , 123456789000
Antivirus: AVG Internet Security 2011, Updated and Enabled

[Morgaledh]

Really? No one has any idea what happened or how I fix this? No one?

[Morgaledh]

Sorry, but there's really no one on this forum at all who has any idea in the slightest what settings are off? Surely this can't be THAT big of a problem.

[captainron276]

Try running these two programs, they are highly recommended here.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free

http://www.superantispyware.com/?tag=SUPERANTISPYWARE

Be sure to Update each before running your scans.

Hopefully one of the Tech's will get involved soon.

[Morgaledh]

Thanks, both those programs are on my machine and I use them regularly. This isn't a virus hijack, it's clearly a setting I don't understand, somehow.

Someone has to know. Someone?

[captainron276]

Have you tried a System Restore point to where it was working?

[Morgaledh]

Yes, restore points don't fix this because there's nothing "wrong" per se, it's got to be an arcane settings issue that I just cannot figure out. I guess I haven't been clear:

Nothing I do lets me get things off of my desktop toolbar. This is clearly some setting that got changed/I changed/etc, and no one knows what to do here?

[DoubleHelix]

I don't see any problem here. The Desktop Toolbar is just a toolbar with links to a set of folders. You can't edit the properties of them. That link should point to C:\Users\Public folder.

[Morgaledh]

Ok, I'll come at this from another direction.

1. Why are there two Public folders in my C: (one in C:, one in C:\Users)? This may be normal, I am just wondering.
2. Why do neither of them contain Control Panel, The Internet, Computer, and Network?
3. Why can't I remove Control Panel, The Internet, Computer, and Network from my Desktop Toolbar (lower right hand corner)? or, worded differently, with more detail:
4. Why, when I right click on Control Panel, The Internet, Computer, or Network from my Desktop Toolbar (lower right hand corner) and select "delete" do I get a message asking "Are you sure you want to delete the [fill in the blank] icon from your desktop? [by the way, it is NOT on my desktop] To restore it later go to Personalization in Control Panel" - and yet when I do delete it, it reappears on my Desktop Toolbar instantly?

I can supply screenies if anyone wants 'em, just suggest where to upload them.

[DoubleHelix]

What are the full paths to both Public folders?
The Public folder is just a folder that can have files and folders. The items you mentioned are programs or system components.
The desktop toolbar shows a list of everything on the desktop in toolbar form. If you want to remove something from the desktop toolbar, you remove it from the desktop.

[Morgaledh]

Thanks.

The full path to both Public folders are:
Computer>Main Drive C:>Public
Computer>Main Drive C:>Users>Public

I said in no.4 above that those programs (Control Panel, The Internet, Computer, and Network etc etc) which show up in my Desktop Toolbar (lower right hand corner of screen) are NOT on my desktop. They aren't.

Just to be sure... I know this is not needed, but I suppose it cannot hurt to make certain we're all talking about the same thing in Vista Ultimate. In the lower right hand corner of my screen, on the toolbar, to the left of the time, there is a < which are all the hidden icons on my toolbar. To the left of that is Desktop >> and when I click on the >> I get a list of the icons/links on my desktop. There are TWO items on my desktop (see the original post), and that's all I want: Recycle Bin and My Shortcuts (the latter I made long ago, it's a folder that contains all my desktop shortcuts). None of the rest are on my desktop. Nothing else. Nothing. But they ARE in my Desktop Toolbar when I click the >>.

I don't want them there. This is such a small problem, but such a large one. No easy, quick answer here?

[DoubleHelix]

I would suggest renaming the C:\Public folder to C:\Public_Old. Wait a week or so, and if everything still works, delete it. It isn't a Vista folder, but it's possible another program created it.

It looks like the Desktop toolbar contains a standard set of shortcuts. I don't see anywhere to change it, although there may be a 3rd party tweaking utility or registry hack that could do it, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[Morgaledh]

Thanks. I'll rename C:\Public, but I still wonder about the Desktop toolbar. Seems it didn't used to be this way... damned if I can figure out what changed.