How can I hide desktop icons in Windows XP x64?

Question

How can I hide desktop icons in Windows XP x64? The right clicking on the desktop method I used in x86 (32 bit) isn't there.

Answer 1

According to this article from Microsoft Technet, you need to set

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\NoDesktop

to the DWORD value 1

Answer 2

I found this bit of information:

When you right-click the Desktop and choose Arrange Icons By sub-menu, these three options may be missing:

Show Desktop icons / Lock web items on the Desktop / Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard

This happens if the policy NoActiveDesktopChanges or NoActiveDesktop is enabled via the Group Policy Editor or via the Registry. Follow the steps given below to get back the missing options:

Click Start, Run and type REGEDIT. Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Double-click NoActiveDesktopChanges and set it to 0 Double-click NoActiveDesktop and set it to 0 (if it exists)

Close Registry Editor and restart Windows.

Answer 3

Use Fences. When you double click on any blank space on your desktop, all icons disappear; and when you double click again, they come back.

Fences is free for personal use.