Now, end the Windows Explorer process using the below command. Your taskbar and desktop might go blank. Taskkill /f /im explorer.exe; Next, execute the below command delete icon cache. Del iconcache. Now, execute this command to delete thumbnail cache. Del thumbcache.db.
- Open Windows Explorer or File Explorer and search for IconCache.db. They should appear in the C: Users YourName AppData Local Microsoft Windows Explorer. Windows 7 and 8 users can just delete IconCache.db and reboot. Windows 10 users will see numerous files that end in the.db extension. You'll need to delete all of them. A shortcut would be to.
- There you can view thumbnail cache in Windows 10. Then learn how to delete thumbs db in Windows 10 as per below steps. Select all files with names starting with thumbcache, go to the Home tab and click Delete. Empty the recycle bin in order to permanently delete the thumbnail cache.
- First, Clear Local Temp Cache (%temp% folder) Windows stores a lot of cache files in the Local.
This guide shows you how to clear the icons cache for the following Windows versions: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10.
Contents
- 6 More Information
How to clear the icons cache in Windows XP
To clear the icons cache in Windows XP, follow these steps:
- Open any folder so you have Windows Explorer available
- Click Tools
- Select Folder Options
- The Folder Options window should now appear
- Click the View tab
- Under the Hidden files and folders section, check the Show hidden files and folders option
- Then click OK
- Go to
C:Documents and SettingsUserLocal SettingsApplication Data
, whereUser
is the username of your profile account - Select the IconCache.db file found in the Application Data folder
- Right-click on this file and click Delete.Alternatively, press the Shift + Delete keys on your keyboard to delete the file
- Empty the Recycle Bin
How to clear the icons cache in Windows Vista
To clear the icons cache on a Windows Vista computer, follow these instructions:
- At Windows Explorer, click Organize.To have Windows Explorer open, open any folder or open My Computer.
- Click Folder and search options
- The Folder Options window appears
- Click the View tab
- Under Hidden files and folders section, check Show hidden files, folders, and drives
- Then click OK
- Go to
C:UsersUserAppDataLocal
, whereC:
is the drive where Windows Vista is installed andUser
is the username of your account profile - Find the IconCache.db file
- Select the file and right-click to click Delete.You can also press the combination of Shift + Delete keys to delete the file.
- Then empty the Recycle Bin
Clearing icon cache in Windows Vista
How to clear the icons cache in Windows 7
To clear the icons cache in Windows 7, follow these instructions:
- Click Organize in Windows Explorer (open My Computer and click Organize)
- Select the Folder and search options item
- Go to View
- Under the Hidden files and folders section, check the Show hidden files, folders, and drives, then click OK
- Go to the
C:UsersUserAppDataLocal folder
, whereC:
is where you installed Windows 7 andUser
is the username of your account profile - Find a IconCache.db file listed in the Local folder
- Right-click on the IconCache.db file and click Delete
- Empty the Recycle Bin
How to clear the icons cache in Windows 8 or 8.1
To clear the icons cache in Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, follow these instructions:
- Open Windows Explorer
- From the View tab, select Hidden items
- Then select Show selected items
- Go to
C:UsersUserAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsExplorer
, whereC:
is the drive where you installed Windows 8 or 8.1 andUser
is the username of your account profile - Select all files that begin with
iconcache
- Right-click on these files
- Click Delete.To delete these files faster, press the Shift + Delete keys.
- Empty the Recycle Bin
Clearing icon cache in Windows 8
How to clear the icons cache in Windows 10
To clear the icons cache in Windows 10, follow these instructions:
- Open Windows Explorer
- From the View tab, select Hidden items
- Then select Show selected items
- Go to
C:UsersUserAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsExplorer
, whereC:
is the drive where you installed Windows 8 or 8.1 andUser
is the username of your account profile - Select all files that begin with
iconcache
- Right-click on these files
- Click Delete.To delete these files faster, press the Shift + Delete keys.
- Empty the Recycle Bin
More Information
Support Links
- Easy Recovery Essentials for Windows – our repair and recovery disk.
It’s an easy-to-use and automated diagnostics disk. It’s available for Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. It’s also available for Windows XP and Windows Server.Read more at Windows Recovery Disks. - The NeoSmart Support Forums, member-to-member technical support and troubleshooting.
- Get a discounted price on replacement setup and installation discs: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10.
Applicable Systems
Delete Icon Cache Windows
This Windows-related knowledgebase article applies to the following operating systems:
- Windows XP (all editions)
- Windows Vista (all editions)
- Windows 7 (all editions)
- Windows 8 (all editions)
- Windows 8.1 (all editions)
- Windows 10 (all editions)
Wartune loki. On Windows 10, those icons you see on files and apps are stored in the icon cache database to allow the operating system to display them quickly on the screen. The process of caching icons, instead of retrieving them from the source, helps to prevent your system from getting bogged down by the mere task of “showing icons”.
However, as the database grows, the odds of icon cache database getting corrupted also grows. When this happens, icons on your desktop and throughout the operating system may not render correctly or even appear broken.
Although Windows 10 doesn’t include an option to reset the database, you can still fix the problem using a few commands in Command Prompt.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to rebuild the icon cache database on your computer when they appear blank or broken.
How to rebuild the icon cache database
![Windows Windows](/uploads/1/1/8/5/118528750/345987317.png)
To rebuild the icon cache database on Windows 10, close any application that you may be running, and then do the following:
Delete Icon Cache Db Windows 10 Pro
- Open Start and do a search for Command Prompt.
- Right-click the result and select Run as administrator.
- Type the following command to navigate to the icon cache database location and press Enter:
cd %homepath%AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsExplorer
- Type the following command to verify the icon cache database files are at the location and press Enter:
dir iconcache*
The output of the dir command should list these database files:- iconcache_1280.db
- iconcache_16.db
- iconcache_1920.db
- iconcache_256.db
- iconcache_2560.db
- iconcache_32.db
- iconcache_48.db
- iconcache_768.db
- iconcache_96.db
- iconcache_custom_stream.db
- iconcache_exif.db
- iconcache_idx.db
- iconcache_sr.db
- iconcache_wide.db
- iconcache_wide_alternate.db
- Type the following command to stop File Explorer and press Enter:
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
Important: Once you terminate File Explorer, your desktop background and taskbar will disappear, leaving a black screen — but it’s OK, it’s only temporarily. You need to close File Explorer to be able to delete the icon cache files. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do it. - Type the following command to delete the iconcache files and press Enter:
del iconcache*
Quick Tip: If you get access denied trying to remove the files, you’re probably not running Command Prompt with as an administrator. Repeat these steps, but making sure Command Prompt starts with administrative privileges. - Type the following command to verify that you successfully deleted the icon cache files and press Enter:
dir iconcache*
If you still see some iconcache files, then it’s likely that some apps are still running, which will prevent you from deleting the database files. Make sure to close them all, and repeat the steps. - Type the following command to start File Explorer and press Enter:
explorer.exe
- Close Command Prompt to complete the task.