Windows 10: Lost all my file icons and other features on Windows 10.

Hi, I'd like to ask for some help with a problem I haven't been able to sort out by myself. I want to say in advance that my Windows OS is not on Tablet Mode and it's not an issue you can fix by simply Ticking the 'show desktop items' option with a right click. Having said that, I'll try to explain what this is all about.

Yesterday, My pc went a little bit mental right after updating my Nvidia drivers. All the icons have completely disappeared from the desktop, taskbar, folders, thumbnails, and files. The items and shortcuts are there, but there's no icon on them, just the text. After trying a few things, I also realised there was another issue. I've lost the ability to open the properties window on any file. Either by right-clicking or using the window explorer, if you hit properties no window pops up, not even an error message. Finally, something similar happened to my Google Chrome app. I've reinstalled it and it's working now, but initially it was broken and it would not open. This all happened right after I restarted my pc, as you usually do when updating your GPU drivers.


This is what everything looks like now:



Some additional details:

-I'm the owner of this PC, I'm logged in as the administrator and there's only one account registered in. It's a Win10 x64bit build, updated to the lastest version available as speaking. I stopped using third-party Antivirus softwares a while ago and I'm now relying on Windows Defender only.


What I've tried so far without any possitive outcome:

-Fully removed and made a clean install of my GeForce/nvidia drivers.

-Tried to clear the icon cache manually and also through CMD.

-Sfc /scannow on Safe Mode. Got a message saying the system had corrupt files that were succesfully repaired, but it didn't fix anything at all.

-Restored to two different previous Save Points.

-Clean start with only basic services running on.

-Initiated Safe Mode, in which I still can't open the properties window on any file.

-Downloaded this Safescanner app you can find on the official Microsoft site and made a full scan. No threats found.

-Disk health scan through CMD, nothing wrong with it.

-Something odd I've noticed since this happened. Sometimes, when I try to reboot the system, I get a message saying there's an app running in the background called 'gspy hid device' and I'm asked for do a forced shutdown to close it.



I'm really worried I'll end up having to format my pc in order to fix this issue. It'd be a pain in the neck as I'm working from home atm. Thanks in advance!

:)

 

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

Two bugs in GPU-Z - icon and version number

I ran into the very same issue with the latest GPU-Z version at Win 10 x64 - I rename the desktop shortcut and after some time I see blank icon for it, and reinstall-rename solution also won't survive restart. The solution I came up with was to extract the icon from GPU-Z and use it instead. This is yet to disappear after multiple restarts.

 

Is it time for Windows 10 already?

Here's a good step by step guide on doing a fresh install.

How to clean install Windows 10 from a USB drive - Software - Feature - HEXUS.net