How to Rebuild the Icon Cache in Windows

Press the Start button at the bottom-right corner of your screen. , Type folder options and select the result that matches your search.,Go to the View tab., Scroll down under Advanced settings: and click the circle next to Show hidden files...

18 Steps 1 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Press the Start button at the bottom-right corner of your screen.

    This will allow you to change file viewing settings so that you can see hidden files like IconCache.,,,, File Explorer lets you see all the files on your computer, including system files like IconCache.

    Note:
    In Windows 7 and earlier, it is called Windows Explorer. ,,,,, We have a guide on how to do that (just click on the green sentence before this).

    You can quickly open it by launching the Start menu/screen and searching for Recycle Bin., Proceed to the next step.,, The icons should now be fixed.
  2. Step 2: Type folder options and select the result that matches your search.

  3. Step 3: Go to the View tab.

  4. Step 4: Scroll down under Advanced settings: and click the circle next to Show hidden files

  5. Step 5: folders

  6. Step 6: and drives.

  7. Step 7: Click or tap the OK box to save your changes and close folder options.

  8. Step 8: Open File Explorer.

  9. Step 9: In the address bar of File Explorer

  10. Step 10: type %userprofile%/AppData\Local.

  11. Step 11: Scroll through all of the files until you find a file named IconCache or IconCache.db.

  12. Step 12: Right-click or hold (for touchscreen devices) and select Delete from the menu that appears.

  13. Step 13: Confirm deletion if prompted by pressing Yes.

  14. Step 14: Open the Recycle Bin and empty it.

  15. Step 15: If the Recycle Bin is already empty

  16. Step 16: there's nothing you need to do.

  17. Step 17: Clear the thumbnail cache if you're seeing problems with thumbnails (previews of files).

  18. Step 18: Restart your PC.

Detailed Guide

This will allow you to change file viewing settings so that you can see hidden files like IconCache.,,,, File Explorer lets you see all the files on your computer, including system files like IconCache.

Note:
In Windows 7 and earlier, it is called Windows Explorer. ,,,,, We have a guide on how to do that (just click on the green sentence before this).

You can quickly open it by launching the Start menu/screen and searching for Recycle Bin., Proceed to the next step.,, The icons should now be fixed.

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Timothy Robinson

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