Article ID: 238567 - Last Review: March 27, 2007 - Revision: 3.10

How to restore the Outlook icon to the desktop

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This article was previously published under Q238567
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For a Microsoft Outlook 2002 version of this article, see 281085  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281085/ ) .
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SUMMARY

For Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000, if you delete the Outlook icon from the desktop, there is no interface to restore the icon back to the desktop. You cannot recover the icon by right-clicking the desktop and using the Undo Delete menu item.

For Outlook 97, the above is also true if you removed the Inbox icon from the desktop and converted the Outlook shortcut to a permanent desktop icon using the Chnginbx.exe utility from the Office 97 compact disc in the Valupack\Patch folder or from the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=93E0B83F-F794-4FC9-9EBB-2A5FB04764EF&displaylang=EN (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=93E0B83F-F794-4FC9-9EBB-2A5FB04764EF&displaylang=EN) .
For additional information about the Chnginbx.exe utility, please click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
160297  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/160297/EN-US/ ) OL97: How to Change Inbox Icon to Start Microsoft Outlook 97
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MORE INFORMATION

When you attempt to delete the Outlook icon from the desktop, a Confirm Delete dialog box appears with one of the following messages:
Microsoft Outlook cannot be stored in the Recycle Bin.
Are you sure you want to delete Microsoft Outlook from your desktop? After you remove this icon from your desktop you can still access the files in this folder: C:\Program Files \Microsoft\Office\Office\
Are you sure you want to delete Microsoft Outlook from your desktop?
-or-
Microsoft Outlook cannot be stored in the Recycle Bin.
Are you sure you want to delete Microsoft Outlook from your desktop?
It is possible to restore the icon by adding a key in the Registry.

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322756  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
  2. Locate the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\
  3. On the Edit menu, click Add Key, and then add the following registry key:
    Key Name: {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
  4. Quit Registry Editor.
You must refresh the desktop to see the restored Outlook icon. To do this:
  1. Minimize all open windows.
  2. With the left mouse button, click on the desktop.
  3. Press F5 to refresh the desktop.
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APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Outlook 97 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Outlook 98 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Standard Edition
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Keywords: 
kbregistration kbhowto KB238567
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