Restore Show Desktop Icon to Quick Launch on Taskbar

Problem :

The Show desktop icon is missing from your Quick Launch toolbar in Windows XP, but you want to use this icon instead of the alternative methods to show the desktop or show open windows.

To resolve this problem automatically in Windows XP, click the Fix this problem link. Then follow the steps to download and run Guided Help.

Fix this Automatically

Manual Fix

To re-create the Show desktop icon yourself, follow these steps:
Click Start, click Run, type notepad in the Open box, and then click OK.
Carefully copy and then paste the following text into the Notepad window:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

On the File menu, click Save As, and then save the file to your desktop as "Show desktop.scf". The Show desktop icon is created on your desktop.
Click and then drag the Show desktop icon to your Quick Launch toolbar.

Information for advanced users

The Quick Launch toolbar uses the files in the following folder:

%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
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Alternative to using Show Desktop :

To quickly show the desktop or open windows without using the Show desktop icon on the Quick Launch toolbar, you can use one of the following methods:
Press the Windows logo key+D on your keyboard.
Right-click the Windows taskbar, and then click Show the Desktop or click Show Open

Source : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/190355