Appliction icons in png format keep repopulating my desktop

Running Windows 11 OS Build 22631.3880 on my Lenovo Legion Go.

I don't recall installing anything specific but all of a sudden application icons keep repopulating on my desktop after I delete them all.

It's not an OneDrive thing...I have it uninstalled on the Legion Go and disabled on my other Win 11 PC desktop. I just can't figure it out. Ran malwarebytes and found nothing.

Any ideas?

EDIT: Hmm...i do see a OneDrive folder still there with EXE files matching most of the PNG icon files on my desktop...can't delete them though so trying to reinstall One Drive but of course that's not installing now lol. Maybe it is a weird OneDrive sync thing even though I wasn't syncing or at least didn't think I was.

Welcome to the forum. If you set up a MS account, it automatically sets the default location of Desktop, Documents, Pictures, and Videos folders to Onedrive. The files in these folders do not reside on your system drive. You can see which devices are linked to your Onedrive account here. Redirecting

Now to try to fix your problem. You can't just uninstall Onedrive without first stopping backup, moving your files from Onedrive back onto your system drive and then unlinking the account and the PC from Onedrive. You can tell where your personal folders are located by right clicking on your desktop or documents folder in file explorer. Select properties. Click "location" tab. What is the location listed there. Also please make sure Onedrive is not listed in start menu all apps list.

The best way to handle it is reinstall Onedrive and then go through the proper procedure to get your files out of onedrive and back on your system drive. Once you do, you can then disable or uninstall onedrive. You say you tried to reinstall onedrive. Exactly how did you do this and what error message did you get? To reinstall Onedrive use Option 2 in this tutorial. Uninstall and Reinstall OneDrive in Windows 11 Tutorial
Once you get onedrive reinstalled here's the correct procedure to use.

Proper sequence of events to get rid of ONEDRIVE

1. You first have to turn off backup folder syncing. This tutorial tells you how and also how to get your files onto your local drive.
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/turn-on-or-off-onedrive-folder-backup-syncing-across-windows-11-devices.4321/

NOTE: ONLY IF FOLDERS DO NOT MOVE TO DEFAULT LOCATION IN STEP 1 ABOVE DO THIS

If this happens, then you could try option three in the tutorials below to restore the default folder location and move your files manually from Onedrive into the folders..

• Move or Restore Default Location of Desktop Folder in Windows 11
• Move or Restore Default Location of Documents Folder in Windows 11 Tutorial
• Move or Restore Default Location of Pictures Folder in Windows 11
• Move or Restore Default Location of Videos Folder in Windows 11

2. Then you have to unlink account & PC from onedrive.
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/unlink-account-and-pc-from-onedrive-in-windows-11.15162/
Once you do this the files you have in onedrive will remain there until you login to Onedrive on the Web and delete them.
Sign in - Microsoft OneDrive

3. You can then either uninstall Onedrive or disable it. I prefer to disable it. Open Task Manager>Startup Apps
Find Onedrive in the list and, right click on it, select disable. This prevents Onedrive from auto-starting. By disabling, it stops the Onedrive nags but will be available if you choose to use it in the future.

4. If you want to uninstall it instead, the best way is to use Revo Uninstaller Freeware Portable. You’ll find Onedrive under the Windows Apps section. Be sure to scan for and delete any leftover files and registry entries Revo finds. Download Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Free and Full Download

5. You can also use option 1 in this tutorial to uninstall it. It will leave a few registry entries behind though. Uninstall and Reinstall OneDrive in Windows 11 Tutorial