Third party programs like Computer Customizer or Folder 2 My PC added that functionality to the operating system.

My Computer Manager is a free portable program for Windows that can be used to add files or folders to the My Computer display in Windows Explorer. When you start the program for the first time you see a minimalistic interface with options to add folders or files in a simple or advanced mode to My Computer or the Control Panel.

Simple mode comes without the customizations of the advanced mode. You basically pick a folder or file which is then added automatically to the selected location. You repeat the selection for every file or folder that you want displayed under My Computer or the Control Panel.

The advanced selection mode offers more customizations. You can select a custom name, the path and icons, as well as arguments if you want to add a file to the location.

All files and folders that have been added this way are displayed in the main program interface. Here they can be removed again if they are no longer needed.

Please note that there are no sorting options available in the program as items are sorted automatically in Windows Explorer.

You can use My Computer Manager to add favorite folders and programs to the My Computer dialog for fast access. The process is identical for adding folders or files to the Control Panel.

My Computer Manager is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system. Users can download the portable program from the developer website.

The software is still portable and needs to be executed with elevated rights. The interface itself has not changed a lot, only the number of items that can be added and the new Control Panel Items tab are new.

It appears that the available items have been more than doubled by the developer.

A quick count reveals more than 60 items that can be added to My Computer. The items are divided into the common items and must have items tabs. Some of the new options of the Common Items tab are access to the Windows Firewall, Power Options, Backup and Restore, Phone and Modem, and Recovery.

The Must have items, which previously were called Other Items, now include links to items such as Default Programs, System Restore, the Recycle Bin, Personalization and the Credential Manager.

The functionality remains the same. You pick the items you want from the list by placing a checkmark in their box. A click on Apply Changes at the end of the process adds links to the selected programs and features to My Computer.

Items are removed in a similar fashion, the only difference is that they need to be unselected before the Apply Changes button is activated. The changes are immediate, the new items appear directly without restart.

The program supports adding two items to the Control Panel, with the likelihood that the developer will add items in a future release of the application.

It is currently possible to add Internet Explorer and Libraries to the Windows Control Panel which appear as icons after the apply button has been activated.

Companel has been tested on a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit system. It worked without problems. The developer has not posted any compatibility information on his homepage. It is however likely that the program will work under other Windows operating systems as well.

Computer Customizer is an interesting application that can be used to add quick links to the My Computer listing in Windows Explorer.

My Computer, or Computer for Windows 7 users, displays all connected hard drives and removable storage devices in Windows Explorer.

The listing contains lost of white space, as most Windows users have no more than a couple of local hard drives and removable storage devices connected to their computer.

The portable application Computer Customizer adds selected items to the My Computer display. Available items are divided into common items and other items in the program interface.

Checkboxes in front of every item are used to enable or disable the display of that program or feature link in Windows Explorer. The following links can be added to the computer display:

• Common Items: Internet Explorer, Action Center, Display, Fonts, System, Autoplay, Default Location, Administrators Tools, Desktop Gadgets, Windows Update, Language Selector, Folder Options, Control Panel, Notification Area Icons, Printers, Taskbar and Start Menu, Recycle Bin, Network and Sharing center.
• Other Items: Computer Management, Network Connections, User Accounts, Windows Mobility center, Speech Recognition, Sound, Windows Firewall, Parental Controls, Power Options, Backup and Restore, Color Management, Troubleshooting, Internet Options, Programs and features, Device Manager, Keyboard, Mouse, Homegroup.

Items are enabled with a click on their checkbox and the selection of Apply Changes. They are immediately visible under My Computer, the page may need to be refreshed though if it was the active page before making the change. This is best done by switching to a drive and switching back to the My Computer listing.

All items that can be added are accessible elsewhere in the operating system. Many are Control Panel applets or administrative tools. The main benefit of enabling those items in Windows Explorer is to have another option to open those programs or configuration options in Windows.

Who benefits from adding items to My Computer? All users who use the Windows file manager regularly. Adding often used programs and features to Windows Explorer can optimize the workflow of some operations further. Access to printers, computer management, the device manager and network connections seem to be prime candidates for that.

Computer Customizer has been created by the 13-year old Indian Paras Sidhu. It can be downloaded from the developer’s Blogspot website. The software tested fine on a Windows 7 Professional 64-bit installation. No compatibility and dependency information are provided on the developer website.

The My Computer Icon is a special icon that is placed on the computer desktop of some Windows operating systems. It is possible to remove the icon from the desktop which is the main cause for the my computer icon is gone problems.

There is thankfully though a very easy solution to put the my computer icon back on the desktop. The following guide explains how to do this in Windows 7. The principle is on the other hand the same for Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Open the Windows start menu by clicking on the orb in the lower left corner of the task bar. Locate the Computer link on the right side and right-click it. Select the Show On Desktop option. Et Voila. The my computer icon is back on the Windows desktop.

Windows XP users can also try the following to restore the my computer icons.

Restore Icons to the Desktop
In Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and Professional, the new Start menu is enabled by default. When the new Start menu is enabled, the My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places icons are removed from the desktop. To restore these icons, follow these steps:

• Right-click the desktop and click Properties.
• Click the Desktop tab.
• Click Customize desktop.
• Click the General tab, and then click the icons that you want to place on the desktop.
• Click OK.

Windows Vista or Windows 7 users can enable the my computer icons this way as well:

Right-click the Windows desktop and select Personalize

Click on Change desktop icons in the upper left sidebar of the new window.

Select the desktop icons that you want to restore. Available are My Computer, Recycle Bin, Control Panel, Network and the user folder.

Click the apply button after the changes

The following tip can be helpful if it is not appearing, which can for instance be the case if the computer user has configured Windows to show no icons on the desktop.

Right-click a blank space on the Windows desktop, select View from the menu and make sure “show desktop icons” is enabled in the menu.

The my computer icon might also be hidden from view but still on the desktop. This can be best tested by selecting to auto arrange the icons (right-click the desktop, select view, then auto arrange icons).

These techniques can also be used to remove icons from the computer desktop. Do you have another tip on how to restore the my computer icons in Windows? Let us know in the comments.

There is however no direct option to uninstall or remove an icon from My Computer. The only option that those users have is to edit the Windows Registry to remove the icons from there. This is thankfully not difficulty at all.

They need to start the Registry editor by pressing Win-R, typing regedit and hitting the enter key. They then need to navigate to the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace

The key lists several cryptic folders which define the icons that are displayed in My Computer in Windows Explorer. A click on a key will display the default value of the key with the name shown in the Data field.

This can be used to identify the icons and remove those that the user does not want to display in Windows Explorer. Keys are removed by selecting them with the mouse and pressing the Del key on the computer keyboard. The changes are immediately visible in Windows Explorer.

A simple Registry tweak can remove these folders from the My Computer display. The system folders remain on the computer system and are not modified in any way by the following procedure. Only their links that are automatically added in My Computer is removed.

To remove the Shared Documents and user document folders from My Computer do the following:

Press the keyboard shortcut [Windows R] to open the run dialog box. Enter regedit and hit enter to open the Windows Registry editor. Now locate for the following Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MyComputer\NameSpace\DelegateFolders\{59031a47-3f72-44a7-89c5-5595fe6b30ee}

This can be done by manually navigating in the Registry or searching for part of the key. Please check the complete key as it might appear several times in the Registry. Deleting that Registry key will remove the Shared Documents and user documents folder from My Computer. It is recommended to create a backup of the Registry key before deleting it. This can be done my selecting the key in the Registry editor and opening the Export option under the File header menu.

The changes are immediately visible although a refresh might be needed if the My Computer folder was open during the procedure. The changes can be undone by double-clicking on the Registry backup file that was created in the process. Another option is to simply created the Registry key manually using the information above.

The free software Folder2MyPC is able to add folders to My Computer. This is only one of the features but the most important one for me. Just execute the program and follow the Create Folder menu to create a new folder that appears in My Computer afterwards. I tested it on my Vista notebook where the folder appeared immediately and on my XP desktop where it did not show up. I suspect this is because I use customized themes. Maybe it appears when I restart my computer.

Besides adding folders to My Computer you can also add any application to My Computer or the Control Panel. This is another great way of being able to access several applications fast without having to use the start menu, shortcuts or browse the computer to find them.

The control panel could for instance contain links to applications that test the system or that offer advanced features not found in the default Microsoft programs.

Features

• Add/change/remove any folder and programs in a folders “My Computer” and “Control panel”
• You can chose how you want to open the folder (in a new window or not)
• Customize the shortcut’s icon
• Create shortcut’s both for the current user and for all users of PC
• Can be translated to other languages
• Program loading for display of new folders, after creation of folders is not required

Another useful feature of Folder2MyPC is that you can add – and remove – default Windows folders to My Computer as well. This includes links to Administrative Tools, Program Folders, Printer & Faxes and the Temporary Internet Files.

The application Folder2MyPC is small, lightweight, easy to use and is available for Windows Vista and Windows XP / 2000.

To use this tweak you will have to do the following: Right click on the free space in your taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbar from the menu. Browse to My Computer and hit ok. That’s all there is to do. From now on a My Computer icon is available in the taskbar just to the left side of the system tray. Left clicking on My Computer opens a list of all drives that are connected to your computer at the moment and a link to the control panel.

You can add other links besides the My Computer one, for example you could add on to all items that are currently available on your desktop, to itunes, links and even single folders can be added to it.