Member Avatar for Helltech

Hello, I am at a freinds house. I am currently removing malware, spyware, etc. from his PC. He has VERY small icons, on his start menu, and on his desktop. Its not from the screen size, thats fine, and we like them small. But they are like very very small. Does anyone know how I can fix this problem. I know it is simple .. but ...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by nanosani

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Context and quick diagnosis: reported extremely small desktop and Start‑menu icons while removing malware. 's Display/Appearance toggle didn't help; correctly noted that Windows stores icon metrics in the registry; suggested a theme reset. When the visible-size toggle doesn’t fix it, the problem is usually one of three things: a corrupted icon cache or per‑user setting, a third‑party shell/theme (or leftover malware) altering metrics, or a system‑wide metric change.

Suggested diagnostic checklist (order matters):

  • Check whether the symptom is profile‑specific by logging into a different local account (or creating a temporary one). Profile-only problems point to user settings.
  • Boot to Safe Mode. If icons look normal there, a shell extension/theme or active malware is likely.
  • Note scope: desktop-only tiny icons → icon cache / desktop view issue; tiny icons everywhere (Explorer, Start menu, dialogs) → system metrics or shell modification.

Safe repair steps (non‑destructive first):

  • Rebuild the icon cache: exit Explorer (use Task Manager to stop explorer.exe), delete the hidden icon cache file(s) in the user’s Local Application Data profile (commonly IconCache.db or similarly named files on newer Windows), then restart Explorer. This fixes many desktop/icon-size glitches without registry edits.
  • If that fails, restore the default Windows theme or create a fresh user profile and migrate data — both isolate or remove corrupt per‑user UI settings.
  • If considering registry edits (as referenced), export the affected keys and create a System Restore point beforehand.

Precautions and follow‑up: because malware was present, run thorough, up‑to‑date anti‑malware/AV scans before accepting a permanent fix — some infections reapply changes at each boot. If problems persist after cleaning and the above steps, a repair install or restoring from a known good backup is the safest path.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Dani

Right click on the desktop and click Properties. Under the Appearance tab, click Effects. Select "Use Large Icons" and hit OK.

Member Avatar for Helltech

No that doesn't help I tried that allready. I mean these icons are very very very small .... I can barley see them ..

Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

Click "Start", click "Run...", type "regedit", and click "OK". Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

In the right-hand pane, you will see a value called Shell Icon Size. The default data for this value is 32. If you see a value called Shell Small Icon Size, make sure it's data is set to 16. Also, make sure the value Shell Icon BPP is set to 16.

Member Avatar for nanosani

Click "Start", click "Run...", type "regedit", and click "OK". Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

In the right-hand pane, you will see a value called Shell Icon Size. The default data for this value is 32. If you see a value called Shell Small Icon Size, make sure it's data is set to 16. Also, make sure the value Shell Icon BPP is set to 16.

You can also do this by right clicking desktop -- properties -- appearance -- select icon in drop down menu -- change the size of the icon to whatever you want.

Member Avatar for nanosani

If this doesnt cure ... then try reseting the theme to default windows xp.

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