Desktop shortcuts disappear in Windows 7

On a computer that is running Windows 7, shortcuts that you create on the desktop disappear.

These shortcuts are regarded as broken and are deleted by the System Maintenance troubleshooter.

The System Maintenance troubleshooter performs a weekly maintenance of the operating system. The System Maintenance troubleshooter either fixes problems automatically or reports problems through Action Center. When there are more than four broken shortcuts on the desktop, the System Maintenance troubleshooter automatically removes all broken shortcuts from the desktop.

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Keep the number of broken shortcuts on your desktop to four or less.

Method 2

If you must have more than four broken shortcuts on your desktop, you can disable the System Maintenance troubleshooter.

Note If you disable the System Maintenance troubleshooter, all the maintenance tasks that it performs are disabled. Therefore, we recommend that you use Method 1.

To disable the System Maintenance troubleshooter, follow these steps:

1. Click Start
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   , and then click Control Panel.
2. Under System and Security, click Find and fix problems.
3. On the left navigation pane, click Change settings.
4. Set Computer Maintenance to Off.

Examples of broken shortcuts

You may create shortcuts on the desktop that frequently become "broken." For example, a desktop shortcut for a USB device may be regarded as broken if the USB device is not connected when the System Maintenance troubleshooter performs its maintenance.