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Adamsappleone 2 Posting Whiz

You want clean looking desktop icons, then get rid of the arrow overlay.
Works for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 32-bit Versions

http://vista-shortcut-manager.software.informer.com/

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Dani AI

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suggested using a utility to remove the shortcut-arrow overlay — that works, but here are a couple of concise, reliable alternatives (one safe and reversible; one riskier) plus quick troubleshooting and recovery advice.

The safer/recommended method (no external tool): open Registry Editor and create the key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Icons (create it if missing). Inside it create a string (REG_SZ) named 29 and set its value to %windir%\System32\shell32.dll,-50. Sign out and back in (or restart Explorer) to apply — to restore the arrow, delete the 29 value. This is the standard, reversible registry tweak many guides document. (howtogeek.com)

A riskier, more absolute method is to remove the IsShortcut value under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile (and ...piffile). That removes the overlay but also breaks several shortcut-related behaviors (Favorites, some Explorer features, pin/jump-list behavior); don’t use it unless you understand and accept those side effects. Back up the registry first. (petenetlive.com)

If icons go weird (black boxes or missing icons) after changing overlays, rebuild the icon cache: delete IconCache.db from your profile’s Local AppData and restart Explorer or reboot — that forces Windows to recreate the cache. If anything fails, restore the exported registry key or use a System Restore point. (thewindowsclub.com)

If a GUI is preferred, reputable tweakers (for example, Ultimate Windows Tweaker or Winaero Tweaker) automate the same change and provide easy undo — still create a restore point before running any tweaker. (howtogeek.com)

Summary: use the Shell Icons → 29 value for a quick, reversible fix; avoid deleting IsShortcut unless you know the trade-offs; always back up the registry or create a restore point first.

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