If you’re seeing blank, white, or corrupted icons on your Windows desktop, it can be frustrating. Luckily, there are a few methods you can try to restore your desktop icons to their proper state. The approach differs slightly between Windows 7 and Windows 10, but we’ll cover both operating systems.
Rebuilding the Icon Cache in Windows 10
In Windows 10, you can rebuild the icon cache using Command Prompt or by manually deleting the icon cache file.
Using Command Prompt
Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
Run the following commands:
ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache
ie4uinit.exe -show
Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Manually Deleting the Icon Cache
Open File Explorer and navigate to the following path:
C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local\IconCache.db
Replace “YourUsername” with your actual username.
Delete the “IconCache.db” file.
Empty the Recycle Bin.
Restart your computer.
Rebuilding the Icon Cache in Windows 7
In Windows 7, you can rebuild the icon cache using a batch file or Command Prompt.
Using a Batch File
Create a new text file and copy the following code into it:
@echo off
ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache
ie4uinit.exe -show
Save the file with a “.bat” extension, such as “RebuildIconCache.bat”.
Double-click the batch file to run it.
Restart your computer.
Using Command Prompt
Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
Run the following commands:
ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache
ie4uinit.exe -show
Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
If the above methods don’t work or you’re still experiencing issues with your desktop icons, you can try other troubleshooting steps, such as running System File Checker (SFC) or resetting your PC.