Icons do not appear on my desktop

Cause

Windows XP attempts to make your life easier by removing all of the icons, except Recycle Bin, from the desktop.

This may annoy you, however, so you can easily get back standard desktop icons if you want. You can do this in a couple of different ways, but the
easiest is to use the Customize Desktop feature.

To put icons back on the desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click Start--> Control Panel.

2. Double-click Display--> Click the Desktop tab.

3. Click the Customize Desktop button.

4. On the Desktop Items window--> General tab--> click the check boxes next to the desktop icons you want to show--> such as My Documents, My Computer, and so on. When you are done--> click OK.

Desktop Icons are too Small or too Big

Cause:

The size of the icons on your desktop is determined by the resolution settings of your video card. If everything seems too big or too small, all you probably need to do is choose a different resolution so that items appear the size you want.

Follow the Below Steps To fix the size problem:

1. Click Start--> Control Panel.

2. Open the Display icon by double-clicking it--> Click the
Settings tab.

3. On the Screen Resolution setting--> use the slider bar to choose a different resolution- 800 × 600 pixels is right for most people. If you have a larger monitor (19" +), consider using a higher resolution.

4. If that does not work--> change the Dots Per Inch (DPI) settings for your display--> On the Display tab--> click the Advanced button.

5. This opens an Advanced Properties window--> Click the General tab--> If you want to make items on your desktop larger--> change the DPI Setting using the drop-down menu--> You'll need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Restore Icons To Desktop In Windows XP

In Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Professional, the new Start menu is enabled by default. When the new Start menu is enabled, the My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places icons are removed from the desktop.