Common solutions to Windows icon and thumbnail issues: Steam icon turns white, turns into a globe.

Original Article: https://itxiaozhang.com/common-windows-icon-thumbnail-issues-solutions/
This tutorial is best paired with video learning. The video tutorial is located at the end of the article.

Windows Desktop Icon Troubleshooting Guide#

When using the Windows operating system, we often encounter various issues related to desktop icons and thumbnail display. This article will provide a detailed introduction to common icon issues and provide a batch script to solve these problems, which supports Win7/Win8/Win10/Win11.

Common Desktop Icon Issues#

1. Incorrect or not updating icon display#

Problem Description: Icons in the desktop or File Explorer are damaged or displayed incorrectly, possibly showing as default icons or not displaying at all.

2. Incorrect or not generating thumbnail display#

Problem Description: Thumbnails of files in File Explorer are displayed incorrectly or not displayed at all, sometimes showing as white blocks or outdated thumbnails.

3. Incorrect or not updating system tray icon display#

Problem Description: System tray (notification area) icons are displayed incorrectly or not refreshing, such as Wi-Fi, volume, or battery level icons displaying incorrectly or missing.

4. Icons displayed as generic white icons#

Problem Description: Icons of certain applications or file types do not display their specific icons, but instead display as generic white icons or the globe icon.

5. Duplicate or overlapping icon display#

Problem Description: Icons on the desktop or taskbar may be incorrectly duplicated or overlapping.

6. Inconsistent thumbnails for files and folders#

Problem Description: Some folders display thumbnails that contain files, but these thumbnails may be outdated and no longer reflect the current contents of the folder.

7. Errors with quick launch and taskbar icons#

Problem Description: Icons on the quick launch bar or taskbar are displayed incorrectly or not functioning as expected.

8. Unresponsive or malfunctioning system tray icons#

Problem Description: Icons in the system tray (such as network, volume control) do not respond to clicks or right-click operations.

9. Icon changes not taking effect#

Problem Description: After attempting to change the desktop or folder icon, the new icon does not immediately appear.

10. Icon issues after operating system upgrade#

Problem Description: After upgrading the Windows system, some users may encounter abnormal icon display.

A batch script can be used to solve icon and thumbnail display issues.

Script#

@echo off
echo Closing Windows Explorer...
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
    echo Failed to terminate explorer.exe, please ensure it is running and you have sufficient permissions.
)

echo Clearing icon cache...
if exist "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db" (
    attrib -h -s -r "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db"
    del /f "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db"
    if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
        echo Failed to delete IconCache.db, please check file permissions.
    )
) else (
    echo IconCache.db not found, skipping...
)

echo Clearing thumbnail cache...
for %%i in (32 96 102 256 1024 idx sr) do (
    if exist "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_%%i.db" (
        attrib -h -s -r "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_%%i.db"
        del /f "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_%%i.db"
        if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
            echo Failed to delete thumbcache_%%i.db, please check file permissions.
        )
    ) else (
        echo thumbcache_%%i.db not found, skipping...
    )
)

echo Clearing system tray icon cache...
for %%k in (IconStreams PastIconsStream) do (
    echo y | reg delete "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\TrayNotify" /v %%k
    if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
        echo Failed to delete registry key %%k, please check registry permissions.
    )
)

echo Restarting Windows Explorer...
start explorer.exe

echo Operation completed!

Instructions#

Create a new Notepad file, copy and paste the above script code into it, and save.
Rename the file to fix_icons.bat.
Right-click the saved fix_icons.bat file and select "Run as administrator".

Video Tutorial#

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