What is the purpose of the "desktop.ini" file in Windows and how can I keep it from being generated?
I found the answer: You can stop auto-generating desktop.ini files by unchecking "Remember each folder's view settings" in the Folder Options/View (or similar) settings. While this will not allow each folder to have its own unique size, view mode, etc., that's fine with me because I want all my folders to look and behave the same way.
"Hide protected operating system files" may treat the symptoms sometimes, but is not really a solution, because while the Windows OS may know to hide the files, other software (duplicate finding/synchronization, other OS's when this disk is shared) may not.
In Windows 7, this should work:
- Open the registry editor (Start → type
regedit→ hit Enter) - Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer - Add a DWORD value
UseDesktopIniCache(if it doesn't exist yet), and set its value to 0 (zero)
Source: Nevermore Be Bothered by Desktop.ini
It keeps the preferences for the layout of that folder. If there is any deviation from the standard layout of a folder, then a desktop.ini is created. You can hide it by selecting the "hide protected operating system files" option in windows explorer.
desktop.ini stores information about "special" qualities for folders, such as fancy icons, or displaying the file listings in a different way from default. It's harmless, and really I'd reccomend just subtracting one ;)