Windows 10: Thumbnails, desktop icons, taskbar icons gone, Properties doesnt work

All of a sudden the following symptoms (all at the same time)::
1. Taskbar icons gone (replaced by a neutral identical icon) except Edge and Store
2. In File Explorer, no longer thumbnails, no icons either, simply blank, but names show
3. All desktop icons gone; but their names still show and they "work"
4. When I rightclick to "Properties" (on desktop icons, or File Explorer items) nothing happens
5. Control Panel no longer shows icons, names only
Seems rather dramatic.... Anybody any idea?

:)

 

All computer icons

All of the icons on my computer are gone. not just the desktop, but folder icons, everything. The icon names are still present on my desktop, but no icons. Taskbar icons appear as light blue/white rectangles. Folder envelopes are completely gone. I have
tried searching for a solution, but all I can find is the simple desktop icon function. I have done system restore several times, but to no avail. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

my pc will no longer display icons or thumbnails in explorer or IE

Following an update (see updates.jpg) icons and thumbnails no longer show in IE or Explorer! I've rebuilt the icon cache without changing the problem. I cannot create a recovery point (see errmsg.jpg), I've tried changing the desktop properties which are
set to Small Icons, Align icons to grid and show desktop icons. I also note that I cannot display the properties of any of my three disks nor any desktop icon. On the desktop the icon titles display but not the icon, the taskbar show the same icon for IE,
File Explorer, Microsoft Outlook 2010 and an application! Folders containing image or music only display the content or folder titles, even when tiles display is selected. The desktop icon title and the taskbar icons all action the correct application without
problem. Does anyone have any suggestions that I could try before resorting to the Repair option?

 

Please try to right click on the start icon and select Command prompt administrator, give admin permissions and copy/paste this into the window that opens and press enter sfc /scannow . If you decide to type it in, please notice the space between the sfc and the /. We want it to say no integrity violations were found. If it says there where corrupt files that could not be repaired, please reboot and run it again. You may have to run it 3 times with reboots in between each time. See if this helps.

 

I don't know whether your problem is the same as mine as your description sounds a bit different, however I experienced a similar thing this morning, which seems a bit coincidental, so maybe the problems are linked. PC booted to desktop fine, I went to make a coffee and when I got back the Desktop/Taskbar were blank and all the icons were missing.

The cause for me was that the Intel Graphics Drivers (Intel Iris Graphics 6100) decided that it was going to add a 'Virtual Display' on it's own accord and make that the primary monitor. So in short, the reason everything disappeared was that I was now looking at the low-res second monitor (that I don't have) on my main display.

To cure it I done the following:

1) Rebooted the PC with the power button on the machine, as was unable to do it from Desktop

2) I was then able to right-click the desktop and select 'Graphic Properties' in the context menu.

3) In the Intel 'Graphic Properties' I was able to un-select the 'Virtual Display' by setting it back to single monitor mode

4) Re-added my desktop background, rebooted and all was fine


Yesterday everything was normal and this morning it initially booted to desktop fine, so I'm not sure what the cause was or even what a 'Virtual Display' is. The only updates I can see are for the Windows Map App (where they added a live tile, but I'm not sure what else).

 

Thanks essenbe! In the meantime, I fixed it with the help of the Microsoft chat help desk. They told me to go back to the previous version of Windows. Apparently, they blamed it to a faulty update which I must have received yesterday. Well, it's now "fixed" so to speak. I'm now worried that by the next automatic Windows update something similar happens. Or worse. I don't even know how to turn automatic updates off....
Anyway, for now I'm (sort of) happy.
Thanks very much for your suggestion, which I'm going to save and use later on if necessary! Thanks!!

 

Thanks very much, ARC1020, for your elaborate and clear reply. You are right, your problem is a bit different. In the meantime, I fixed my problem with the help of the Microsoft chat help desk. They told me to go back to the previous version of Windows. Apparently, they blamed it to a faulty update which I must have received yesterday. Well, it's now "fixed" so to speak. I'm now worried that by the next automatic Windows update something similar happens. Or worse. I don't even know how to turn automatic updates off....
Anyway, for now I'm (sort of) happy.
Thanks very much again, for your help!!