Many thanks for your prompt reply, not least for all the details it contains.

This shortcut problem has been has been annoying me for quite a while, and apparently there is no solution to it.

My desktop icons sometimes vanish unaccountably, and after restoring them
they all work well again.

What irks me is that, after a while, suddenly I get the message QUOTE This shortcut has been moved, changed or deleted, and therefore it won't work properly. Do you want to delete it? UNQUOTE

A Microsoft quirk, perhaps?...

Another headache: why does the pc create a shortcut when I don't want it ?

Renewed thanks. Joe