Remove Old or Unwanted Icons from Program Menu in Windows Mobile

You've installed a program on your Pocket PC or touchscreen Windows Mobile Smartphone and discovered that you don't need it anymore. Using ActiveSync, Windows Mobile Device Center or Windows Mobile's own Remove Programs utility, you've removed the software from your handheld, but the icon associated with the program remains in your Program Menu or gives you an error message.

You want to remove the unwanted icon, but how?

The solution to this problem is actually quite simple. Remember that the Windows Mobile and older Pocket PC operating systems are compact versions of the Windows OS that runs on your desktop or laptop. The process for removing unwanted icons on a Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smartphone is very similar to the process on your Windows PC.

NOTE: In this article, we'll be removing the icon for Iris Browser.

To get started, tap the Start Button at the upper left-hand side of the screen and select "Programs." From the "Programs" menu, select File Explorer (the Windows Mobile equivalent to "My Computer" in Windows) and navigate to the following folder: My Device > Windows > Start Menu > Programs.

Navigate to the following folder: My Device > Windows > Start Menu > Programs

Stored in the "Programs" folder are the icon files that populate the "Programs" section of the Start Menu. What is in the "Programs" folder appears as the "Programs" menu.

The contents of the Programs folder populate the Programs section of the Start Menu

Since the contents of the "Programs" folder dictates the contents of the "Programs" menu, deleting an icon file in the "Programs" folder results in the corresponding icon being deleted from the "Programs" menu.

In the "Programs" folder, tap and hold your stylus on the icon you wish to delete. From the drop-down menu select "Delete"

Now, when you return to the "Programs" menu, the icon will have been removed.

Now the Check List Pro Lite icon is gone...

If you have more icons that you wish to delete from your "Programs" menu, simply repeat the process above. Be careful not to delete icons that you'll need later as restoring the icon is a more complicated process.