Article ID: 226428 - Last Review: February 22, 2007 - Revision: 2.2

Canceling Create Shortcut Wizard Leaves Icon on Screen

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This article was previously published under Q226428

SYMPTOMS

When you start the Create Shortcut wizard, a temporary icon is created that you can copy, send to a folder, or to which you can create a shortcut. These temporary icons are empty or point to nothing.

If you cancel the wizard, the temporary icon also remains on the screen for a short time. If you try to delete the icon, you may receive the following error message:

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Windows 2000

Error Deleting File or Folder. Cannot delete file: Cannot read from the source file or disk.

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Windows NT 4.0

Error Deleting File. Cannot delete New Shortcut: Cannot find the specified file. Make sure you specify the correct path and filename.

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CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the temporary icon is a placeholder for the new icon that you are creating.

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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, ignore the temporary icon. The icon is deleted automatically after a few seconds.

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STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 2000.

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MORE INFORMATION

You can also delete the temporary icon while the Create Shortcut wizard is running, but this has no effect on the final shortcut that is created when you complete the wizard.

To start the Create Shortcut wizard, right-click on the desktop (or in a folder), click New, and then click Shortcut.

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