Shortcut Icon disappears when Target points to invalid path (Windows XP)

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1. The path to the Icon is valid (Ex. "C:\MyIcon.ico")
2. The path to the Target was valid (Ex. "N:\My Folder\MyApp.exe")
3. I did not touch the shortcut file at a开发者_开发百科ll
4. I renamed the folder on the file system (Ex. "N:\My Folder2\MyApp.exe")
5. Icon disappears (see below)

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The same situation does not cause icon to disappear on Windows 7. This is a problem because the target in on a network drive, and when user is not connected to network, or VPN, the icon disappears, even if the icon file is stored and referenced locally.

Is this just a problem with Windows XP? Or is there anything that I can do to avoid the icon disappearing when disconnected from network?

I've done extensive testing, and I believe that it's by design in Windows XP to make shortcut icons disappear when the target of the shortcut is invalid.

When the target becomes invalid again, the icon reappears.