Member Avatar for cadmanof50s

Recently re-installed Windows 7 to solve an older issue.

After re-installing 90% of all my other apps, I notice that two programs show their icon as "generic".

The applications are Mozilla Firefox and Advanced Uninstaller Pro.
I contact the folks at Advanced Uninstaller Pro and they told me it was an issue with my Windows Icon Cache.....whatever that means. All other apps show ok and work fine.


How do I resolve this annoying problems?

Although it has no great impact, I fear that there may be other things that are not set up quite right.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Brief summary: was right — a corrupt per-user icon cache is the usual cause when most icons are fine but a couple show the generic blank icon. Rebuilding the cache fixes Start menu/taskbar icons; desktop shortcuts sometimes still show generic icons because the .lnk file holds its own icon data. ’s workaround (delete and recreate the desktop shortcuts) is the simplest reliable fix for those.

To rebuild the Windows 7 icon cache (safe, quick):

  • Open an elevated Command Prompt (Start, type cmd, right-click and choose "Run as administrator").
  • Run these commands exactly:
taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F
cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
attrib -h -s -r IconCache.db
del IconCache.db
start explorer.exe

Explorer will restart and Windows will recreate a fresh IconCache.db. A full reboot will also accomplish the same thing.

If some desktop shortcuts still show a generic icon:

  • Delete the shortcut and create a new one (right-click the program EXE > Send to > Desktop (create shortcut)), or unpin and repin to Start/Taskbar.
  • Check the shortcut Properties > Target to ensure it points to the correct .exe; if the target is missing the shortcut will show a generic icon.
  • If an application's EXE itself has no embedded icon (rare), repairing/reinstalling the app will restore its icon.

Extra notes and caution: run the commands as an administrator and close any important apps first. If problems persist, test with a new user account (to rule out a single-profile issue) and consider a System Restore point before making wide changes.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

are you referring to desktop icons or start menu icons ,or both .
if its desktop icons try deleting them ,and then going to start ,all program and right click on icons of concern and chose send to and sent to desktop as a shortcut .might fix it might not

Member Avatar for cadmanof50s

Actually both Desktop (shortcuts) and start menu icons appear to be generic in these two apps.

Thanks for the advise. Tried that no luck. They still both appear as "generic"

I also tried re-installing both apps. Still no go.

Member Avatar for cadmanof50s

OK. That did it. Start Icons are fixed. Shortcuts on teh desktop are not....but that's not a big deal. I just deleted the old short cuts and created new ones.

Thank you caperjack.

Vic

Member Avatar for caperjack

your welcome

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