Hi. This is an ongoing problem with my desktop lately. I switched my OS to Vista Ultimate and I found that when you create a desktop shortcut for a website, the shortcut usually carries the websites logo to the desktop icon. That's cool. That identifies each shortcut individually for my personal preferences.

However, I have a couple of problems with this. I only know how to create a desktop shortcut using Internet Explorer by right clicking and selecting Create Shortcut. This will put my shortcut to the desktop along with its individual logo.

I prefer to use the latest Firefox. Unfortunately, I do not have a Create Shortcut right click option in Firefox. There must be a way to get Firefox to do desktop shortcuts but I don't know how. Can anyone help on that issue?

Anyway, sometimes the individuality of the logos disappears and is replaced with the infamous Internet Explorer blue 'e' on the shortcut box. Or an orange Firefox fox on globe. I don't know why this happens on an unpredictable regularity. I have found a way to remedy the situation.

I use Firefox. But I keep Internet Explorer in the Quick Launch toolbar. When I need to make a correction to the desktop, I switch to IE and make it my default browser (for just that moment-afterwards I switch back to Firefox). This allows me to re-create my desktop icons like I want them.

Unfortunately, this is a solution to a problem that shouldn't be occurring and can only get worse as I add more icons to my desktop. Why? Because I have found that when the problem occurs, it occurs only to a few icons at a time. And the best I can tell is that it affects the icons that were placed on the desktop on any given day, i.e. if I place 2 icons on the desk one day and 4 the next day, then whenever the problem occurs, it will either wipe out the 2 or the 4 but no other combination.

Could this be happening because of some file getting cleaned out periodically that might contain the desktop icon images?

My questions are these: How can I get Firefox to create desktop icons? How can I retain the desktop icon individuality? How do you keep this icon problem from reoccurring? Can any Desktop Icon Saver program pull double duty and work as an icon placement and individuality protector? Is there a program to protect icon individuality?

I hope someone has some ideas about this for me to try. I haven't seen too much, if anything, about this problem topic. Thanks.

Thanks, I hope so too. I have some additional info to add.

I find that the IE solution I mentioned does not work foolproof-ly. It worked for 2 icons. Then I went back to Firefox and lost one icon. I went back to IE to correct it but it would not correct. Then I lost the other one and neither one would correct after that. However, I am willing to bet that if I try again in the future, I can get them to correct. Is this a time sensitive problem? Strange as that may seem.

I don't have many desktop icons yet. But this problem seems to be getting worse. I would like to get it fixed if someone knows how. Thanks.

Hi and thanks for the reply. Well, I tried what you suggested-adding the site to Bookmarks and then dragging it to the desktop. It went to the desktop but unfortunately retained a Firefox 'fox on globe' icon.

Perhaps I failed to make myself understood for what I am after. Each individual website seems to have its own icon. I want that icon to represent that site when I put it on my desktop-not all of my icons to be Firefox or Internet Explorer logos. I was hoping that your solution would have worked. Maybe I am not doing something right about it.

As for building my own icon repository, well I wouldn't know how to download personalized website logos from each website. Where would they be made available in the website? Would you need permissions from the owners to do so?

Does Google Chrome do what I am trying to do? I may have to switch to it.

Thanks.

I think the OP wants a site's favicon to become the icon for url shortcuts placed on his/her desktop. I don't know if that's even possible.

Thanks people for your diligence. I keep hoping. Meanwhile, I just found a website and printed its contents to read about before I make any decision about it-if it has what I'm looking for. It is: http://www.vista64.com/tutoria.....ista.html.

How to Harvest, Restore, and Retain Icons on Vista.

Yes, I know about right clicking and selecting Change Icon. I have found that there is a selection to choose from but not the websites company logo that I want to represent my icon. Plus, even that method has given me trouble in the past. I can go find icons on the Internet and use them instead of the forced selection that I am given and that works too. But when I do that, I find that that icon has to be stored somewhere where it won't get erased and can easily be accessed by Vista. If I left that icon in Temp Files or somewhere like that, then when I clean my system (using CCleaner), it would often get erased and I'd have to start again. Previously, I was storing it in My Documents for easy access. I am only now learning of others ways to store something away and be able to easily find it again.

When I say 'easily accessed by Vista' I mean that I have trouble using the Vista Search. For some reason, its search mechanism doesn't want to find things that I know are there. I need help in knowing more about it and how to use it. But that's another topic.

Thanks and I'll be back as soon as I can.

Many thanks guys for all the advice. Sorry it took so long to get back. My workweek is pretty hectic.

I took this question to the Vista Forums where I hoped they could help as well. They referred me to a website: http://www.vista64.com/tutoria.....tcut.html.

How to Create a Desktop Internet Shortcut without getting the Default IE Icon in Vista.

I printed this out and started following its instructions. The first 'Method' did not work. The first 'option' worked. It involved changing the DPI (Dots per Inch) resolution to the screen and fonts. For Vista, this is shown how to do this. I read somewhere that Vista was designed to recognize and accept bigger icons. It is more 'comfortable' with bigger. And because of that, Vista has a hard time recognizing smaller icons and so reverts to the default IE 'e' emblem. For some reason, it is not seeing the icon image file. This is a simplistic explanation that may not be all that accurate because I can't help but wonder why the program bypasses the icon you want and always wants to go to the IE icon. There must be a way to alter the program and tell it what you want it to do.

There are several more options in this Vista webpage for me to try if this 'fix' doesn't last. So for now I have the icons I want on my desktop. But I am dubious of it lasting. I had what I wanted in the beginning before things started messing up. I have a working version of Desktop Restore which I had hoped would preserve the icons' appearance as well as the icons' position. Unfortunately it doesn't.

So until I lose my icons again (which could be the next time I sign off and back on), I am willing to consider this problem solved. For now.