Have you ever experienced blank photo icons on your Desktop or in a Folder? Instead of seeing that thumbnail image of your last vacation, it appears as a blank image with an icon of the default application for opening photos on your system.
Possible Fixes
Most of the time the problem is due to a corrupted icon cache. Opening the image in your default program may make it appear for a while, but it might revert to a blank image after a while. Below are several methods you may try to fix the problem. To prevent any mistyping, the text shown in red below can be copied and pasted into your CMD Window.
System File Checker:Start by typing CMD in Search. Type sfc /scannow at the prompt and then Enter. It will scan your system for any corrupted files and fix them if necessary.
DISM: Open CMD as explained above and type: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth
Hit the Enter key and wait for the process to complete. This should clear the icon cache as well as restore any corrupt system files.
Disk Clean Up: This uncomplicated process may reset your icon cache.
Scroll down and ensure that Thumbnails is selected and click on OK. If all your icons are working, you have finished
Reset the Icon Cache: This will delete the existing cache and rebuild it. This third method is the one most likely to fix your problem and it is only four commands:
Open CMD as explained above and enter:…
cd %LocalAppData%\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Explorer – This will change the directory to the location of Explorer
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe – This will kill the Explorer task
del iconcache* – This will delete the Icon Cache
start explorer.exe – This will rebuild the Icon Cache and restart Explorer
Summary
Files can become corrupted for many reasons, and it is nice to know that with a few simple commands, you can repair and rebuild the database containing your icons. I have repaired several systems for my clients and the last option has never failed to work.
My interest in computers was a natural transition from all things electronics. I was hooked after building my first Heathkit computer around 1976, which evolved into a TSR80 and a long list of Windows computers. My first full blown program was a graphics program which started my career path in graphic design and IT work for 40 years. I now run a small computer repair and service company focused on helping veterans and retirees in our area with computer and software training classes.
