Is your IE7 desktop icon missing in Vista?
This is what you are missing. Create a reg file with the following text - merge with the registry:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel]
"{871C5380-42A0-1069-A2EA-08002B30309D}"=dword:00000000
You will need to refresh the desktop to see the shortcut (right click on desktop, select refresh).