Can anyone tell me how to remove a rogue directory sitting on my desktop? It has no name and can't be accessed or deleted. It is obviously a glitch I would think in the registry. I am quite confident using regedit if I could only remove the value making it appear if indeed it is so. Anyone point me in the right direction please?

I don't know what you mean by a rogue directory. Can you post a screen shot? Where did it come from? How long has it been there? Is a there time stamp? Can you rename it? Did you try Safe Mode?

Rats! Digertati beat me to it while I was composing my response. Oh well, I'll leave it for the how to instructions.

If it has no name and can't be accessed, how do you know it's there?

When you say directory, do you mean folder? Can you provide a picture of your Desktop to show what you mean? To post a picture here, do the following:

1. To capture the entire desktop, press the Print Screen key, To capture the active window, press Alt+Print Screen.
2. Open a Image editing program like Paint (Start / Run type mspaint and press Enter) or IrfanView and paste the screen capture into it, then save the file to a place where you can find it.
3. Goto a web site like
   • Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket
   • Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing
   • Webshots - Photo Sharing, Free Wallpaper and Free Screensavers
   register if needed then upload your picture.
4. Copy the link to your picture then paste it into a post in this thread.

Rats! Digertati beat me

Well, I don't feel so bad. Apparently you don't know what a rogue directory is either!

Sorry it's my terminology. It is a yellow folder, it has no name, nothing to identify it, I can highlight it but that is all. Looking at other XP desktops there is a folder called' My DSC', I don't have that and wonder if it is a corrupted My DSC? I will try safe mode and try to post a screen shot although my description says it all. When I look in Documents and settings/ Desktop for all accounts (There are 4) it does not appear in any of them.
Thanks for replies.

Bit more info, if I hover the cursor over it a box appears saying--'View shared folders in your network and add new shared folders'

Here is the link, you can see the folder on the right second icon down.

desktop.jpg picture by tolly576 - Photobucket

I don't know what My DSC is either - so don't think that is the issue. The 'View shared folders in your network and add new shared folders' message makes me think it is a shared network folder. Can you view the properties? Did you try Safe Mode? Can you drag and drop it on to the Recycle Bin?

Can you find it with Windows Explorer (not IE)? That is, drill down (navigate to) <Drive>:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Desktop - where <drive> is your boot drive, normally c and <UserName> is your user name. Can you delete it from there?

Before we go much further, I would also recommend you do a quickclean and scan of your system - just to make sure it is clean. I recommend purging the hard drives of clutter with Windows (XP, Vista or 7) Disk Cleanup, ATF Cleaner or CCleaner. If using CCleaner, uncheck the option to install the Yahoo toolbar during installation. Before first use, go to Options > Settings > Advanced and ensure Only delete files in Windows Temp folders older than 24 hours is unchecked. Know your site credentials (user names and passwords) for sites you frequent before cleaning; you may have to login again at next visit.

Download and install Malwarebytes's Anti-Malware (MBAM) and scan as follows:

Check for updates before scanning,
Select Perform quick scan > Scan,
When complete, click OK, then Show Results,
Ensure all is selected, and click Remove Selected,
When complete, save the log in Notepad to a convenient place for future reference.

Repeat for all computers in the "Trusted Zone" of your network (your side of the Internet "gateway" - typically the cable or DSL modem).

Windows Disk Cleanup Note: One distinct advantage Windows Disk Cleanup has over all other cleaners is that it also has the option to delete all but the most recent Restore Point. This can be significant as malicious code can hide there too. But I caution this option, found under the More Options tab, should be used only after careful consideration. If experiencing a problem that first appeared within the last couple days, do not use this option until sure System Restore cannot be used to fix it. If the computer is running fine otherwise, and you are doing your weekly supplemental scans and want to root out as many potential malware hiding places as possible, I recommend setting a new Restore Point, and then use this Disk Cleanup option to clear out the old points.

Digerati

I tried all that, nothing works. No malware found with malwarebytes. I am now wondering if it is the operating system and if a repair will cure it?

I am now wondering if it is the operating system and if a repair will cure it?

It might, but that is a last resort option. Repairs do not always go as planned. If you are considering that, make sure backup all your data first.

Were able to navigate to the folder with Windows Explorer? If so you can try MoveOnBoot. This program allow you to tag files and folders for deletion during the next boot , before Windows or any other program can get its hooks into it.