Windows 10: Blank icons in Windows 11 - The same overposted solutions everyone keeps shoveling DO NOT WORK.

There are way too many people having icons turn blank, and thanks to the karma farmers I believe that even the macaques in the jungle know to try: Unpin/repin the app. sfc /scannowdism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealthClear the iconcache and restart Explorer or reboot the system. Change the icon via properties. The more shameful steps being recommended aka: "nuclear options" should never be required: Uninstall and reinstall apps - I am NOT reinstalling Visual Studio, Office, Quickbooks, and 6 other apps - those things take forever! Perform a "non-destructive" reinstallation of the OS - w

:)

 

ALL icons missing/blank (desktop, taskbar, explorer)

Hi dalchina,

Thanks for your response.

I tried the steps suggested in your links but neither have worked :/

 

Blank shortcut icon GPU-Z

It's not fixed, today my GPU-Z icon is a blank shortcut icon again..
And it says GPU-Z.exe does not contain an icon

 

Desktop chrome shortcut icons turned into blank papers!!!

Hi

Welcome to Microsoft community.

It's possible that the antivirus app you installed, RAV endpoint protection, caused the issue with your Chrome shortcut icons turning into blank papers. Antivirus apps can sometimes interfere with the functioning of other programs, including changing the appearance of icons.

To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

1. Restart your computer: Sometimes, a simple restart can fix minor issues with icons.
   
2. Rebuild the icon cache: The icon cache is a database that stores the icons for all the files and programs on your computer. If the cache becomes corrupted, it can cause issues with icons. To rebuild the icon cache, follow these steps:
   
   • Open File Explorer and navigate to the following folder: C:\Users[Your Username]\AppData\Local
     
   • Locate the "IconCache.db" file and delete it (you may need to enable the option to show hidden files and folders in File Explorer settings).
     
   • Restart your computer.
     
3. Reset Chrome shortcuts: If the issue persists only with Chrome shortcuts, you can try resetting them by following these steps:
   
   • Right-click on the blank paper icon and select "Properties."
     
   • In the Properties window, click on the "Shortcut" tab.
     
   • Click on the "Change Icon" button.
     
   • In the "Change Icon" window, click on the "Restore Defaults" button.
     
   • Click "OK" to save the changes.
     

Please note that these steps are general suggestions, and it's always a good idea to back up your important files before making any changes to your system.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further updates, thanks.

Best regards

Derrick Qian | Microsoft Community Support Specialist