Blank Icons on My PC: How to Restore Them

Windows 11
1

I'm experiencing an issue where only half of my desktop icons are displaying correctly, while the other half are blank. Is there a solution to fix this and get all my icons to appear as they should?

2

Hey there,

It sounds like you’re dealing with a pretty frustrating issue where half of your desktop icons are showing up blank. Don’t worry, I’ve got some steps that might help you fix this problem.

Step 1: Clear Icon Cache

  1. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Local.
  2. Look for IconCache.db files and delete all of them.
  3. Once you’ve cleared the cache, restart your PC to see if the icons come back.

Step 2: Check Permissions

  1. If the cache clearing doesn’t work, there might be a permissions issue.
  2. Open File Explorer and right-click on the Desktop folder.
  3. Select Properties, then go to the Security tab.
  4. Make sure the Users or your specific user account has Read and Write permissions.
  5. If not, try granting those permissions and see if the icons come back.

Step 3: Refresh Desktop

  1. Right-click on an empty area of your desktop and choose Refresh from the context menu.
  2. This might reinitialize the icons and get them to show up correctly.

Step 4: Reinstall or Update

  1. If the above steps don’t work, you can try reinstalling any apps that have blank icons.
  2. Alternatively, check for updates to see if that resolves the issue.

Additional Tips

  1. Make sure your Windows 11 is up to date with the latest KB updates.
  2. Run sfc /scannow and DISM utilities to check for any system errors.

Give these steps a shot and see if they help you get all your desktop icons showing correctly again. If not, you might want to consider seeking technical support or resetting your PC as a last resort.