can I delete Microsoft.Management.Deployment.winmd icon that appeared on my desktop? Windows 11

Question

Can I delete Microsoft.Management.Deployment.winmd icon that appeared on my desktop? What is it?

Answer 1

That warning is normal and expected . Windows shows it any time you change a file extension, even for files that are not needed. In this case, it’s completely safe to ignore the warning. The file is not a system file in that location. If you want, after renaming it, you can restart your PC to confirm everything works normally. If something ever needed the file (very unlikely), you could rename it back — but Windows should never need a .winmd file from the Desktop.

Answer 2

Hello! I'm an independent consultant. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

Let us help you solve this problem.

What happens when you right-click it and then go to Properties to see where the file path is located?

This may be caused by a recent app that you have installed, or it may have been accidentally dragged from its original location to the Desktop.

Answer 3

Try to rename it first to be safe that it wont affect any applications installed on your machine.

Right-click the file

Select Rename

Change the name to:

Microsoft.Management.Deployment.winmd.bak

Press Enter

If Windows does not complain, then it’s safe.

After renaming

Use your computer normally.

If nothing breaks, you can safely delete the .bak file