Windows 10: Deleted my IconCache.db and now I don't have any icons.

I had a problem where I set the icon of my folders to a default invisible icon. Soon it became a black box instead of being invisible. While I was trying to solve the issue I have found a solution that suggested to delete IconCache.db . So I did with these lines in cmd, and when I restarted the explorer and now my icons have vanished. After 1 hour of searching I haven't found a solution how to restore my icons or this .db file.here is the link to the post where I got the commands:https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-desktop-icons-black-box/6f4373b4-dd5f-4d56-b8a2-2ac3d

:)

 

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.

 

IconCache refuse to be deleted

Hi,

The icons on my laptop have become black, so i follow differents instructions to delete IconCache from User AppData, local. But the icons are still the same. after deleting IconCache each time i check i see that it is there. So the problem of icon is not
resolved. Can you please help?

 

Paper covering my icons

Hi, this is . An independent advisor. Sorry if this may caused any trouble. I'll be more than willing to help. It seems that the ican cache has been corrupted. We may need to rebuild it. Please follow the steps below.

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

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%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

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

Once you completed the steps, Windows 10 will automatically recreate the database files with fresh new icons.

Let me know how it goes.