Files: How to Rebuild the Icon Cache in Windows

This updated guide examines Files: How to Rebuild the Icon Cache in Windows and organizes the essential facts, background, and practical takeaways in clear American English.

Method 1of 2:

Manually Deleting the File

1. Press the Start button at the bottom-right corner of your screen.
2. Type folder options and select the result that matches your search. This will allow you to change file viewing settings so that you can see hidden files like IconCache.
3. Go to theViewtab.
4. Scroll down under Advanced settings: and click the circle next to Show hidden files, folders, and drives .
5. Click or tap theOKbox to save your changes and close folder options.
6. Open File Explorer. 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.
7. In the address bar of File Explorer, type%userprofile% /AppDataLocal .
8. Scroll through all of the files until you find a file named IconCache or IconCache.db .
9. Right-click or hold (for touchscreen devices) and selectDeletefrom the menu that appears.
10. Confirm deletion if prompted by pressingYes.
11. Open the Recycle Bin and empty it. 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 .
12. If the Recycle Bin is already empty, there's nothing you need to do. Proceed to the next step.
13. Clear the thumbnail cacheif you're seeing problems with thumbnails (previews of files).
14. Restart your PC. The icons should now be fixed.

Method 2of 2:

Using Command Prompt

1. Open the Command Prompt. The quickest way to open the Command Prompt in any version of Windows is to:
   • Press the?Win+Rat the same time.
   • Typecmd.
   • Click/tapOKor hit?Enter.
2. Type the commands in. Type the commands below into the Command Prompt, hitting enter after each line of code is entered. You can also highlight and copy them (either by right-clicking and pressingCopyor by pressingCtrl+C. Right-click in the Command Prompt and selectPaste.Ctrl+Vwon't work.
   • cd /d %userprofile%AppDataLocal
   • attrib –h IconCache.db
   • del IconCache.db
   • start explorer
3. Restart your PC. The icons should now be fixed.