The icons are there to help us recognize an application and distinguish between different shortcuts and folders, so we can click the one we need without spending too much time reading the text. They make life simpler and help companies build brands. But some Windows 10 users see blank icons on their Windows 10 desktop. It’s a weird error.
While this is not a major issue that will affect the operation of Windows 10 OS or any apps you are using, it can still be annoying especially when you want to launch apps or open the folder from your desktop. There are several solutions I found that would be helpful.
Let’s get started.
1. Update apps and OS and reboot
You know that’s the first thing we recommend. Open Settings and click Update & Security.
In the Windows Update tab on the left, you’ll find any updates waiting to download or install on your PC. You can also check for updates manually.
Since this error is related to app icons, I recommend updating the app to see if that resolves the missing or empty icon error. Open the Windows Store, click the Downloads and updates icon in the upper right. Mostly, you’ll see some there if updates are found.
If not, I recommend you to check it manually once. Click Update All to get started.
Once everything is up to date, restart your PC once and check if the icons appear again.
2. Uninstall Google Drive
Some users have reported that uninstalling Google Drive from their computer helped resolve the issue. If so, download a fresh copy of the app and try installing it again. If the problem persists, you will have to find alternative solutions or contact Google Drive support.
3. Reinstall the app
You may see icons for some applications and not for others. Maybe, the error is specific to some application instead of the whole system? Updating apps doesn’t work, right? Try uninstalling the app and then reinstalling it from the Windows Store. You can also try installing it directly from the source site instead of using the Windows Store. It has helped some users.
4. Icon Settings
Windows 10 comes with an icon setting that you can adjust in Settings. These are default desktop icons like Trash etc. Press Windows key + I to Open it and click Personalize.
Under Themes, scroll to the bottom to select Desktop icon settings.
Select the item for which you don’t see an icon and click Change Icon here to replace it.
If that doesn’t work, try the Restore Defaults button on the same screen.
5. Change the icon manually
In the case of apps, you can change the icon manually. To do so, right-click on the application and select Properties. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Enter when the application is selected. In the Shortcuts tab, click Change Icon to get started.
If you downloaded an icon pack from the web, you can browse to the folder and select it instead of going with the default options, which, to be honest, isn’t so great.
6. Update Display Adapter Drivers
It’s a long shot but still worth a try. Open Device Manager and find Display Adapter. Update your graphics card driver by right clicking on it.
Select Update Driver here and follow the onscreen instructions.
7. DISM and SFC . Scanning
The DISM command will service the Windows image and repair anomalies with system files. The SFC scan will scan for corrupted system files and attempt to repair it. Open Command Prompt with administrative rights and type these two commands at the same time.
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup Image /Restorehealthsfc /scannow
You will find more information on this link.
8. Rebuild Icon Cache
It’s probably the last thing you can do. Windows saves icon images as cache files to render them quickly when required and without consuming too many resources. Over time, this cache may become corrupted or deleted. Sometimes a recently installed third-party app can also interfere, as some users have found with Google Drive.
To rebuild the icon cache, close all applications and windows. Everything. Open Command Prompt with administrative rights from Windows Search.
Enter this command to navigate to the icon cache folder. You can copy and paste commands. Press Ctrl + C to copy and right-click Command Prompt to paste. Press Enter when you see the command.
cd %homepath%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
Now enter this command to find out if the icon cache files are actually in that location.
dir iconcache*
You should now see an output that looks like this.
- iconcache_1280.db
- iconcache_16.db
- iconcache_1920.db
- iconcache_256.db
- iconcache_2560.db
- iconcache_32.db
- iconcache_48.db
- iconcache_768.db
- iconcache_96.db
- iconcache_custom_stream.db
- iconcache_exif.db
- iconcache_idx.db
- iconcache_sr.db
- iconcache_wide.db
- iconcache_wide_alternate.db
Enter this command to stop File Explorer. Your desktop will stop responding and turn black or blank. That’s great.
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
Now type this command to clear the icon cache files.
clear iconcache*
Now type this command to make sure that the files are indeed deleted.
dir iconcache*
If you still see some database entries, it’s possible that some applications are still running (interfering) or you didn’t follow the steps correctly. Start from scratch.
Finally, type this command to restart File Explorer.
Explorer.exe
Close command prompt.
At this point, Windows 10 will automatically restart, will recreate the icon cache files from scratch, and restart File Explorer. That can take some time so be patient.
Iconic icons
Some Icons are crafted differently and that’s how most people recognize the app. That’s another reason why icons are important. They help create brand recognition. While a missing or empty icon error is nothing to worry about, you should still try and fix it to avoid headaches later.
Next up: Prefer to use your Windows 10 computer in tablet mode? Click the link below to learn how.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
