Had to reverse this. Click the Key option on the submenu. A crack is meant to bypass security. Click Explorer then right-click the Explorer folder. What other visual cue does it have to tell you it's a shortcut? So, lets see how to remove the shortcut arrow overlay on Windows. I hate icons and since Windows 7 I have removed every icon from the screen. Select the Shortcut arrow and choose No Arrow. It worked fine for me on Windows 7-64 and Windows 10-64. Didn't read the article properly! Of course, you could go more advanced and define your own shortcut arrows or even change your system icons, but that is for another day. I go even deeper with my irrational nitpick and remove all icons from my desktop. Name the new folder as Shell Icons. This is where we need to create a new value that removes the shortcut arrow in Windows 10 and 11. Readers like you help support MUO. I had the same issue, I'm going to attempt to change the black squares to transparent ones. Heres how to do it. Is there a reason the method you described would be preferred? Fortunately, theyre pretty easy to remove. The start menu does it all. Windows Central is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. RELATED: How to Backup and Restore the Windows Registry. So the true String Value according (the since pre-AVG's ownership of. Using the Registry It's the easiest way to get rid of the arrow overlay. (Don't really need it on the desktop.) You don't need an extra app and it doesn't take a lot of time. It's several revisions old, but still fun. Right-click Explorer on the left of the Registry Editor to select New . Mine said something about 'Access violation reading memory address 0xF433D785. I only have skype on my desktop so i uninstalled it and then reinstalled it and it worked but then when i shut down and restart the black blank space returns. By having to change the registry just to make some cosmetic changes to the OS, I feel that Microsoft don't want people to be able to do that, even though they are not explicitly denying the possibility. The location / process for changing this in the registry has not changed since XP either. There's that app WinAero shortcut editor that does the same. Now there's just the name and no icon on my desktop. There are a few easy ways to tackle this problem. That might sound a little daunting, but a pretty straightforward registry tweak is all thats needed. The icons include those arrows to highlight that theyre shortcuts for software and files. No harm done though everything is perfect now. Navigate Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer 3. Even though the arrows are smaller than in some previous versions of Windows, they arent terribly attractive. Had shortcuts everywhere (in an organized way, mind you). Without the arrow overlay, you will be hard-pressed to find the difference between an actual file and a shortcut. Double click on 29, make sure the value is empty (it should still be, even if you're having a bug), and hit 'Okay'. All the fear of the registry seems kind of funny. The arrows are the for unwashed masses. FYI, you'll have to restart the computer after making the change, as this setting is in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry hive. Both systems have windows 10 and are fully up to date. i was so happy when w8 came out with the start menu. I don't like the arrows either. Entering the wrong text here can result in a broken icon system, which means that clicking on your shortcut won't do anything, or the shortcut icon won't appear at all. Right-click on Explorer and select New> Key. Right click on the Windows 10 Start Menu goes away. CCleaner seems to be having troubles with Edge. Then Small Windows prompted Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your PC? To do that double click on 29. The program was called Easy Content Menu (v1.6 from 2015) I ran the program to adjust some of my Content Menu settings, then discovered that in the menu under Extras I could select Remove Shortcut Arrows. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/0\/02\/Remove-Shortcut-Arrows-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Remove-Shortcut-Arrows-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/0\/02\/Remove-Shortcut-Arrows-Step-1.jpg\/aid11836538-v4-728px-Remove-Shortcut-Arrows-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":344,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":545,"licensing":"