I uninstalled aol instant messenger from my comp. the
destop icon is still there. when i try to delete it i get
the following error message "cannot delete file: cannot
read from source file or disk." the properties are
empty. it is basically an empty shortcut but windows xp
will not let me delete it can anyone help

so it highlights and click delete. That will send it to
the Recycle Bin in case you want to restore it.