how to repair desktop icons

How to Fix Windows 10 Desktop Icons Missing/Disappeared

• Unhide All Desktop Icons Windows 10
• Check Desktop Icon Settings
• Turn off the Tablet Mode
• Run SFC Scannow
• Run CHKDSK
• Rebuild Icon Cache
• Reset this PC
• Perform a System Restore. Windows 10 desktop icons missing issue may be caused by accidentally hiding desktop icons. You can restore desktop icons Windows 10 by enabling Show desktop icons.

Full Answer

How do I reinstall desktop icons?

Use Finder to Show Missing Mac iCons

1. Click on the Finder icon on your desktop.
2. From the menu bar, select "Finder Preferences".
3. In the Finder Preferences window that opens, click the "General" tab.
4. Place a checkmark next to the items you wish to display on the desktop. ...

How do you refresh your desktop icons?

In fact, you may also need to refresh your desktop manually in the following circumstances:

• The desktop does not display the files or folders you just created, moved, deleted, renamed or saved on it
• You need to re-align your desktop icons.
• You find that you cannot use the desktop icons.
• Files that were created to the desktop by some 3rd-party application do not appear
• Windows desktop becomes unresponsive.

How to restore the old desktop icons in Windows 10?

Steps to restore desktop icons in Windows 10:

1. Open Desktop Icon Settings. Click the Search button on the taskbar, type desktop icon in the empty box, and tap Show or hide common icons on the ...
2. Restore the changed desktop icons to the default one. Choose a changed desktop icon (e.g. Network ), and tap Restore Default button.
3. Bring the changes into effect. Tap OK to make the changes effective.

How do I fix the desktop icons in Windows 10?

To do so:

• Click Start and type in "regedit" (no quotes); wait for "regedit" or the Registry Editor to appear in the list and click it.
• Scroll to the top of the Registry Editor on the left of the screen and collapse all the folders (if any are open). ...
• Click the HKEY_CURRENT_USER (folder). ...

More items...

How do I fix my desktop icons?

8 Ways to Fix Blank Icons on Windows 10Restart File Explorer. Navigation in Windows is controlled by the built-in navigation tool, File Explorer. ... Disable Tablet Mode. ... Run an SFC Scan. ... Update Your Display Driver. ... Clear the Icon Cache. ... Run a Malware Scan. ... Update Windows. ... Reset Your PC.

Why are the icons on my desktop not working?

You can do so by right-clicking on the desktop, selecting View and verify Show desktop icons has a check beside it. If it's just the default (system) icons you seek, right-click the desktop and choose Personalize. Go into Themes and select Desktop icon settings.

How do I fix my desktop icons on Windows 10?

Settings - System - Tablet Mode - toggle it off, see if your icons come back. Or, if you right click on the desktop, click “view” and then make sure “show desktop icons” is checked off.

How do I reset my icon cache?

If you needed to rebuild the Icon Cache in Windows 7/8, you needed to do the following:Open File Explorer > Folder Options > Views to show Hidden System Files.Next, go to C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local folder.Delete the hidden IconCache. db file. Reboot.This action would purge and rebuild the icon cache.

How do I restore my desktop screen?

Replies (2)  Find your "Desktop Personalization Settings." Turn on your computer and wait for your desktop to load. Right click on your desktop and click on "Personalize" to be taken to your desktop settings. Click "Change Desktop Icons" under "Tasks" and double click "Restore Default."

How do I get my desktop back to normal Windows 10?

This post from MiniTool will show you how to return to normal desktop in Windows 10....How Do I Get My Desktop Back to Normal on Windows 10Press Windows key and I key together to open Settings.In the pop-up window, choose System to continue.On the left panel, choose Tablet Mode.Check Don't ask me and don't switch.

How do I restore thumbnails in Windows 10?

Here is how you can do it:Open Settings.Head to System > About.Scroll down and select Advanced system settings.In the Advanced tab, click the Settings button.Check the Save taskbar thumbnail previews and Show thumbnails instead of icons options.Click Apply > OK to save your new system settings.

When I click on an icon on the desktop nothing happens?

Try unplugging the mouse and connect a secondary mouse to your computer. Right-click on any app or the desktop and check if the secondary mouse is working. If the mouse works, you may need to replace the device with a new one.

How do I get my desktop back to normal Windows 10?

This post from MiniTool will show you how to return to normal desktop in Windows 10....How Do I Get My Desktop Back to Normal on Windows 10Press Windows key and I key together to open Settings.In the pop-up window, choose System to continue.On the left panel, choose Tablet Mode.Check Don't ask me and don't switch.

How do I get my desktop icons back on Windows 10?

You can turn on Show Desktop Icons, check desktop icon settings, run CHKDSK or SFC Scannow to repair hard drive errors and corrupted system files w...

Why did all my desktop icons disappear Windows 10?

If all your desktop icons are missing, you may have unintentionally turn on an option to hide desktop icons, you can unhide the desktop icons by ri...

How do I restore my desktop files?

To restore desktop files, you can use a professional data recovery tool like MiniTool Power Data Recovery software to easily recover desktop files...

There are many solutions, and all are simple

Ryan Dube is a freelance contributor to Lifewire and former Managing Editor of MakeUseOf, senior IT Analyst, and an automation engineer.

Causes of Missing Desktop Icons

There are several reasons that your desktop icons could go missing. These include:

Troubleshoot Missing Desktop Icons

We'll look at the easiest and most common solutions first, and then move on to the more advanced ones.

How to Rebuild the Icon Cache With Command Prompt

The Windows 10 OS maintains which icons to display on your desktop via cache files. At times this cache can fall out of sync with the actual icons you created on your desktop. You can force Windows to rebuild these cache files by deleting them.

What happens if you lose your icons on your desktop?

If you Windows 10 desktop icons are disappeared, some of files you stored in computer may also get lost. Don’t worry, you can easily recover lost data and files with the help of the professional best data recovery software.

What to do if icons are missing from taskbar?

If icons are missing from Taskbar in Windows 10, you can try to use SFC or DISM to fix this issue .

How to restore desktop files?

To restore desktop files, you can use a professional data recovery tool like MiniTool Power Data Recovery software to easily recover desktop files on Windows 10/8/7.

How to show desktop icons in Windows 10?

Your Windows 10 icons may be hidden, the second step you can take is to show desktop icons in Windows 10 through Settings. Step 1. You can right-click the computer screen and click Personalize. If you can’t right-click the desktop screen, you can click Start -> Settings -> Personalization. Step 2.

How to open command prompt in Windows 10?

Step 1. Press Windows + R key on the keyboard, type cmd, and hit Enter to open Command Prompt.

Why are my icons not showing on my desktop?

So, why are you running into icon issues on your Windows 10 PC in the first place? There are various possible reasons for that. Your icon cache may be out of date, which will lead to icons displaying incorrectly or not showing at all. You may have upgraded an application and the new version of this application came with a new icon— but your desktop may still be displaying the old one.

How do icons work on Windows 10?

The icons that the system uses for your documents and programs are stored in the icon cache. This way, they can be shown quickly on your computer without having to load from scratch every single time. Storing them on a hard disk and having to retrieve them and render them every single time would take up a lot of system resources.

What is the icon cache on Windows 10?

When you shut down or restart your PC, the operating system will write the icon cache to a hidden file on your computer’s hard drive , and this way, the icons won’t need to be reloaded later and will be ready for instant use. The file keeps growing as more information is added to it.

What to do if your computer is lagging?

If you have noticed that your system has been lagging, consider downloading and installing a performance boosting program such as Auslogics BoostSpeed. Once installed, the software will run a thorough scan of your system and locate any unneeded files (these include user temporary files, web browser cache, error logs, old Windows Update files, temporary Sun Java files, unnecessary Office cache and more). They will then be safely removed from your system without causing any complications. This way, you will be freeing gigabytes of space on your computer without having to invest in pricey hardware upgrades.

How to open a program on a computer?

All you need to do to open a program or file is double-click the right icon and the program will open instantly. When everything is working properly on your PC, you will see the icons of the applications on your computer displayed the way they always are, and double-clicking an icon will bring up the needed program.

What is an icon on a computer?

Icons are graphic images that represent a file, a program, a web page, or a command on Windows 10 (and other operating systems). They are a really quick and convenient way of executing commands and opening files and documents, and they make the interaction with your PC smooth and hassle-free. All you need to do to open a program or file is ...

Does rebuilding your icon cache help?

However, rebuilding your icon cache does help with getting your icons to work and look the way they are supposed to. Thus, after completing the steps above, you should no longer be facing any icon-related issues on your computer.

What to do if your icons disappear?

Simply rebuilding your icon cache may be the right thing to do if your desktop icons disappeared. This will ensure that Windows 10 has a clean canvas to render your icons, restoring any previous issues with the cache files.

Why are my icons disappearing on my desktop?

It’s possible that your desktop icon visibility settings were toggled off, which caused them to disappear. This can be human error or caused by an application you recently used or installed. You can easily turn it back on by following the steps below.

How to update Windows 10?

Here are the steps to guide you when updating Windows 10. Click on the Start menu and choose “Settings.”. You can alternatively use the Windows + I keyboard shortcut as well. Click on the “Update & security” tile. Make sure to stay on the default “Windows Update” tab. Click on the “Check for updates” button .

How to get my desktop back on?

You can easily turn it back on by following the steps below. Right-click on an empty space on your desktop. Click on the “View” option from the context menu to expand the options. Make sure that “Show desktop icons” is ticked.

How to get to the command prompt in Windows 10?

Press the Windows + R keys on your keyboard. This is going to bring up the Run utility. Type in “cmd” and press the Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys on your keyboard . Doing so, you’re launching the Command Prompt with administrative permissions.

How to open the Start Menu?

Open the Start menu by clicking on the Windows icon in the bottom left corner of your screen. You can also press this key on your keyboard to bring the menu up.

Can Windows 10 update fix bugs?

Upgrading to the newest Windows 10 release may be able to restore some system issues on your device. Many users report that an update was able to resolve known bugs, and it also brings you new and exciting features, patches up security holes, and much more.

How to fix a corrupted icon?

Another method to reset the corrupted icon cache is by deleting it and then restarting the computer. This solution has worked for most of the users that faced this issue. To delete the corrupted icon cache, follow the steps given below: 1 Press the Windows key and type Control Panel in the search bar. Select the top option. 2 After the control panel opens, click on the View by option and select small icons. 3 Locate the File Explorer Options and open it. 4 In the View tab, locate the Hidden files and folders option in the Advanced settings section.

Why Icons And Shortcuts Get Corrupted In Windows 10?

The broken icons and shortcuts that you are seeing in your computer are most likely caused by corruption in Windows 10 icon cache. All the icons and shortcuts cache are stored in special files by Windows so that it can show them faster to the user .

How to clear cache on Windows 10?

To delete the corrupted icon cache, follow the steps given below: Press the Windows key and type Control Panel in the search bar. Select the top option. After the control panel opens, click on the View by option and select small icons. Locate the File Explorer Options and open it.

How to rebuild icon cache?

To rebuild the icon cache, you have to delete all the iconcache files that appear in this folder. It’s not as simple as clicking on them and pressing Delete, though: those files are still in use by Explorer, so you can’t just delete them normally.

Why are my icons missing?

Sometimes the icon cache gets out of date, causing icons to display incorrectly, or even go missing. For example, maybe you upgraded an application and the new version came with a new icon, but you still see the old icon on the desktop. Sometimes a blank or damaged icon may appear when a perfectly good icon was displayed before. When this happens, you have to reset the icon cache and let them automatically re-create it. In this article, we’ll show you how to rebuild the icon cache in Windows 10. This guide also applies to Windows 8 and 7, but the process works slightly different.

Why are icons saved in cache?

The icons that Windows uses for your documents and programs are saved in an icon cache, so they can be displayed quickly instead of having to slowly load them every time. If you ever have problems with the icons on your computer, rebuilding the icon cache might help. Sometimes the icon cache gets out of date, causing icons to display incorrectly, ...

How to check if icon cache is still running?

Run the dir command to check the list of remaining files. If one or more iconcache files are still listed, it means some applications are still running in the background. Close them and repeat the procedure again, if necessary.

How to remove task manager from desktop?

Right-click on the Windows taskbar and choose “Task Manager” from the shortcut menu. Right-click on “Windows Explorer” in the list and choose “End task” from the shortcut menu. The Explorer and desktop will disappear.

Where is the icon cache file located?

In Windows 8 and Windows 10, the icon cache file is located in: C:Users<your username>AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsExplorer. (Replace <your username> with the actual login name for your Windows account.)

Where are icons stored in Windows?

Icons are everywhere in Windows: the Control Panel, Programs and Features, File Explorer, and so on. Having to retrieve all possible icon images from hard disk and to render them dynamically can consume lots of system resources. As a result, Windows save icons it’s already retrieved in its memory. When you shut down or restart, it will write this cache to a hidden file on your hard drive, so it doesn’t have to reload all those icons later.