Solved PatchMyPC (Portable) places a blank icon on the desktop


wiganken

wiganken

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OS
Windows 11 Pro
My computer magazine recommended PatchMyPC Home Updater so I tried it out and found it okay. I know I don't really need it as I check my apps weekly but thought I would give it a try.
The installed version of the app works fine but the portable version leaves a blank 'File' icon (no file extension) on the desktop. This does not happen with the installed version.
I added file extension 'txt' to open it but it showed a lot of gibberish so it isn't a text file.
I can't see a setting in the portable app to stop it. Does anyone know what it is and how to stop it?
If I can stop it happening I might be tempted to keep the portable version (but not the installed version) as I prefer portable apps if possible.

Bottom photo shows the 'blank' files I deleted in the Recycle bin and they are all 36,571 KB file size.

PatchMyPC versions.webp

PatchMyPC Portable places blank icon on Desktop.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    GMKtec K11
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 2250HM
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
Download a picture of your favourite icon, edit it in your photo software and convert it to an ico. file online. Download it and save to a folder where you can access it.

Go to your desktop shortcut, right click to bring up the context menu, scroll down to properties. Click on it. Now click on where it says my icon and find the folder where you saved your ico. to.

Click on it and click on apply and on ok. Now if you have a blank icon, it should be replaced with your ico. icon.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Education For 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ZBook G2
    CPU
    Intel® Core i7 5500u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Family Graphics 5500 AMD Firepro 4150M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Audio
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Mouse
    HP USB Mouse
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro For Workstations 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Zbook G4
    CPU
    Xeon 1535m v6
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Quadro Pro 4100
    Sound Card
    Bang and Olufson Audio
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
    Mouse
    HP USB Mouse
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
wiganken said:
I added file extension 'txt' to open it
Click to expand...
Try adding
.cab
.zip
.cfg [If you move the portable app to a different folder, does it create the file in that new location instead? That is what made me think of .cfg.]


Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 25H2 Build 26200.8037
Try3 said:
Try adding
Click to expand...
Thank you.
I added file extension cab and also tried zip but neither worked. See photos below.
I already moved the portable app to a folder on the desktop hoping it would place the icon there instead but it still placed it on the desktop.
The file size is always the same at 36,571 KB (36.57 MB) so it must contain a lot of something but trying to extract files indicates there are no files in the folder. See bottom photo.

NotCab.webp

NotZip.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    GMKtec K11
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 2250HM
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
wiganken said:
My computer magazine recommended PatchMyPC Home Updater so I tried it out and found it okay.
Click to expand...
Consider winget made by MS, just add the command to task scheduler to run daily. PatchMyPC is limited to ~500 apps.
Code: 
winget upgrade --all -h --include-unknown --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
learn.microsoft.com

upgrade Command

upgrades the specified application.
learn.microsoft.com
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Home26H2Can
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 8600G (07/24)
    Motherboard
    ASROCK B650M-HDV/M.2 (07/24) BIOS 4.21 AGESA ComboAM5 1.3.0.1 (04/26)
    Memory
    2x32GB Kingston FURY DDR5 5600 MHz CL36 @5200 CL36 (07/24)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASROCK Radeon RX 6600 Challenger D 8G @48FPS (08/24)
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus (05/24)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Philips 24M1N3200ZS/00 (05/24)
    Screen Resolution
    1920×1080@165Hz via DP1.4
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000 NVMe 2TB (05/24)
    ADATA XPG GAMMIX S11 Pro 512GB (07/19)
    PSU
    Seasonic Core GM 550 Gold (04/24)
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Mini with 3x Noctua NF-P14s/12@555rpm (04/24)
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12S with Noctua NF-P12 (04/24)
    Keyboard
    HP Pavilion Wired Keyboard 300 (07/24) + Rabalux 76017 Parker (01/24)
    Mouse
    Logitech M330 Silent Plus (01/26)
    Internet Speed
    500/100 Mbps via RouterOS (05/21) & TCP Optimizer
    Browser
    Edge, Brave for YouTube, LibreWolf for FB
    Antivirus
    NextDNS blocking 1/3 Traffic
    Other Info
    Phone: Motorola Moto G86 (02/26)
    Backup: Hasleo Backup Suite (PreOS)
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170 (09/10)
    Chair: Huzaro Force 4.4 Grey Mesh (05/24)
    Notifier: Xiaomi Mi Band 9 Milanese (10/24)
    FlexCore USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 (M) to LAN (F) (08/25)
das10 said:
Just a note: The size of the downloaded "PatchMyPC-HomeUpdater-Portable.exe" file itself is 36,571 KB
Click to expand...
It also requires .NET (more space and vulnerabilities)

capture_10182025_205223.webp
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Home26H2Can
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 8600G (07/24)
    Motherboard
    ASROCK B650M-HDV/M.2 (07/24) BIOS 4.21 AGESA ComboAM5 1.3.0.1 (04/26)
    Memory
    2x32GB Kingston FURY DDR5 5600 MHz CL36 @5200 CL36 (07/24)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASROCK Radeon RX 6600 Challenger D 8G @48FPS (08/24)
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus (05/24)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Philips 24M1N3200ZS/00 (05/24)
    Screen Resolution
    1920×1080@165Hz via DP1.4
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000 NVMe 2TB (05/24)
    ADATA XPG GAMMIX S11 Pro 512GB (07/19)
    PSU
    Seasonic Core GM 550 Gold (04/24)
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Mini with 3x Noctua NF-P14s/12@555rpm (04/24)
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12S with Noctua NF-P12 (04/24)
    Keyboard
    HP Pavilion Wired Keyboard 300 (07/24) + Rabalux 76017 Parker (01/24)
    Mouse
    Logitech M330 Silent Plus (01/26)
    Internet Speed
    500/100 Mbps via RouterOS (05/21) & TCP Optimizer
    Browser
    Edge, Brave for YouTube, LibreWolf for FB
    Antivirus
    NextDNS blocking 1/3 Traffic
    Other Info
    Phone: Motorola Moto G86 (02/26)
    Backup: Hasleo Backup Suite (PreOS)
    Headphones: Sennheiser RS170 (09/10)
    Chair: Huzaro Force 4.4 Grey Mesh (05/24)
    Notifier: Xiaomi Mi Band 9 Milanese (10/24)
    FlexCore USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 (M) to LAN (F) (08/25)
wiganken said:
PatchMyPC Portable places blank icon on Desktop.webp
Click to expand...
Have you suppressed showing file extensions or do those files really have none?


Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 25H2 Build 26200.8037
Those are Shortcuts - Just Right Click > Delete.
If they are the actual EXEs, same procedure.

Before doing that look at the Properties > Shortcut Tab > Target. That will tell you where the EXE was or is located.

If the EXE is there, delete it.

No need for confusing and tangential stuff.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Try3 said:
Have you suppressed showing file extensions or do those files really have none?
Click to expand...
No, I have not suppressed showing file extensions. I like to see them. It is a simple white (blank) icon (as shown in the Recycle Bin photo) with no extension.
I am not interested enough to register and ask on the PatchMyPC forum.

Helmut said:
Those are Shortcuts
Click to expand...
There is no shortcut arrow on the icons?

Thanks for all input but I will forget about PatchMyPC Home updater portable and delete it. As I said in my OP I don't need it. I was just interested but not any longer.

I'll call this 'Solved'.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    GMKtec K11
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 SO-DIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M (4.00 GHz)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 2250HM
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED 14" Laptop - UX3405CA-QL192W
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 - 255H processor
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Arc 140T onboard graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 (16:10 WUXGA resolution) OLED Touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
TairikuOkami said:
Consider winget made by MS, just add the command to task scheduler to run daily. PatchMyPC is limited to ~500 apps.
Click to expand...

Yeah, and it did not include many programs I use. WinGetUI is way better (and also free).
TairikuOkami said:
Code: 
winget upgrade --all -h --include-unknown --accept-package-agreements --accept-source-agreements
learn.microsoft.com

upgrade Command

upgrades the specified application.
learn.microsoft.com
Click to expand...

I really like this. A good reason to deplay UnigetUI (and this winget command as a daily script)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 2H25
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY
    CPU
    AMD 9900X
    Motherboard
    MSI X870E Carbon
    Memory
    64 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD 9070 XT
    Sound Card
    built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24"
    Hard Drives
    Sabrent 1 TB NVMe, 4 x SSD (need to check models), 4 x 3.5" HDD, 8-16 TB, all WD
    PSU
    Seasonic 850
    Case
    Fractal Design North XL (which I likw)
    Cooling
    Corsair AIO for CPU, fans for case
    Keyboard
    Das Keyboard 4
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 (white)
    Internet Speed
    1 TB download
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender
    Other Info
    Also have Lenovo T14S laptop (me) and Lenovo Slim 71 (wife)
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