"Network and Dial-up Connections" folder icons missing

When you open the Network and Dial-up Connections folder, your Local Area Connection and dial-up connection icons may not be visible, although networking continues to function correctly. The only icon in the folder is the Make New Connection icon.

This behavior can occur if the following registry key or one of its subkeys has been deleted or changed to an invalid value:

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:

1. Start Notepad.
2. Type the following lines in Notepad:
   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{0000010c-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]
   @="IPersist"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{0000010c-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\NumMethods]
   @="4"
   
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{0000010c-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\ProxyStubClsid32]
   @="{00000320-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"
3. Save the file as Restore.reg. Note that Notepad may add a .txt extension to the file name. If this occurs, rename the file to Restore.reg.
4. Double-click the Restore.reg file.
5. When you are prompted to confirm that you want to add the information to the registry, click Yes.
6. Restart your computer.