Windows 10: Black icons, how to restore IconCache.db???

I wanted to get rid of "run as administartor" shield icon on my shortcuts, so i followed the guide on the internet. The guide said to delete a file named IconCache.db via CMD with "/a" flag. I did so, and follow the guide further. Before deleting i killed explorer.exe, and after that i restarted explorer task. It didnt help, but make it worse - now all of shortcuts had a black square in their left bottom corner. I decided to follow another guide in the internet to restore IconCache.db file - it said to delete this file once again BUT in the File Explorer now. I did it, rebooted the pc, and

:)

 

Deleted icons stay on desktop (not in desktop folder)

Resetting Icon Cache on Windows 10

Right-click on Start and select Command Prompt (Admin).
Type cd %homepath%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer and press Enter.

To verify the location of the icon cache database files, enter the dir iconcache* command and press Enter.

After executing the command, you should see a list of the following 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.dbiconcache_sr.db
iconcache_wide.db
iconcache_wide_alternate.db

Now you have to stop File Explorer. For that, enter the taskkill /f /im explorer.exe command and hit Enter to execute it. File Explorer uses the icon cache database, so without disabling it, you won’t be able to remove the icon cache files.

Once File Explorer is disabled, type the del iconcache* command and press Enter to delete the icon cache files.

If you receive an alert that the access is denied, double-check if you are running Command Prompt with administrative privileges.To double-check that icon cache files have successfully been removed, enter the del iconcache* command one more time and hit Enter.

If you still see a list of some icon cache files, close the apps that are running and using the mentioned icons and then repeat the above-listed steps.

Finally, enter the explorer.exe command and press Enter to enable File Explorer.

Close Command Prompt.

Or you could download Thumbnail & Icon Cache Rebuilder
Thumbnail and Icon Cache Rebuilder for Windows 10

I forget the original source where I found this info that resolved my same issue.

Hope this helps.

 

Taskbar icons

Hello my name is Bradford and I'm an Independent Advisor for the Microsoft Community and I will try to resolve your problem.

It sounds like your Icon database in Windows is corrupted and has to be rebuilt. In Windows 10 the procedure is a bit long but I've outlined it below for you:

To rebuild the icon cache database on Windows 10, close any application that you may be running, and then do the following:

1. Press Windows Key+R to open the “Run” box.

2. Type “cmd” into the box and then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to run the command as an administrator.

3. Type the following command to navigate to the icon cache database location and press Enter:

cd %homepath%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

4. 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

--VERY IMPORTANT about step 5: 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.

------

5. Type the following command to stop File Explorer and press Enter:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

6. Type the following command to delete the iconcache files and press Enter:

del iconcache*

Note 1: 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.

7. Type the following command to verify that you successfully deleted the icon cache files and press Enter:

dir iconcache*

Note 2: 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.

8. Type the following command to start File Explorer and press Enter:

explorer.exe

9. Close Command Prompt to complete the task.

Once you completed the steps, Windows 10 will automatically recreate the database files with fresh icons, this should fix the problem

If following the above steps doesn't resolve the issue please let me know!

 

Iconcache Problem

Hi,

The Icon Cache or IconCache.db is a special database file that Windows utilizes to keep copies of each icon handy. To help resolve the issue, we need to rebuild your icon cache in Windows 10. Follow the steps below:

• Right-click Start Menu button, select Command Prompt.
  
• Type cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer attrib –h iconcache_*.db del iconcache_*.db start explorer
  
• Then press Enter.

Let us know how it goes.