Desktop Does Not Automatically Refresh When Moving/Renaming/Deleting Files & Folders in Windows 10

Question

When I create a new folder on the desktop and give it a name, the new name does not take effect until I manually refresh the desktop. The same thing happens when I try to delete it.

This behavior also applies to new .txt files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, etc.

Here is a GIF of it happening to a folder:

Answer 1

Try this:

Settings > Personalization > Themes > Change desktop icons > Restore default

If it cannot solve your issue, please also try to reset folder views:

Also go to HKCR\CLSID\{BDEADE7F-C265-11D0-BCED-00A0C90AB50F}\Instance and change DWORD value DontRefresh from 1 (on) to 0 (off).

Answer 2

Haven't tried this solution for your specific problem, but I'd consider it worth trying if I came up against your set of symptoms:

Save the following as a .bat file:

ie4uinit.exe -show
taskkill /F /IM explorer.exe
cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer
attrib -h iconcache_*.db
DEL /A /Q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"
DEL /A /F /Q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"
start explorer

Save and close all files and programs, then run (it doesn't require admin).

When it completes restart your computer.

This script is for resetting desktop icon issues in Windows 10. Any shortcuts on your desktop should return to a default position to the upper-left of the primary screen.

Answer 3

1. Settings > Personalization > Themes > Change desktop icons > Restore default
2. Uncheck Allow themes to change desktop icons > Apply > OK

If this does not work:

1. Restore default > check Allow again > Apply > OK
2. Go back in and Restore default > uncheck Allow again > Apply > OK

Unsure why I had to do this more than once, but it works now.

Answer 4

I had a samba share to a network printer scan folder pinned in the quick access folder. After trying all other solutions including resetting my Windows, this worked! Look to see if you have any shortcuts to poor performing network locations.

Answer 5

To resolve the issue, the only thing I had to do was reboot and it refreshed when moving/renaming/deleting files & folders.

Answer 6

It took me forever to find out the fix to this issue, and I was tempted to just reset my whole PC, with the only thing stopping me being a slow connection. Thank you, Joan, for your answer which give me an idea of how to fix it.

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Here's how I finally got it:

After I went to Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop Icon Settings, I received a message saying something like You do not have the permission to access this file and rundll32.exe was listed in the top bar.

I went to C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe and followed this procedure:

• Right-click rundll32.exe > select Properties > Security tab > Advanced.
• Click "Change", beside the "Owner" line of text, and change this to your user name.
• To close all the security and properties tabs: Apply > Accept everything > OK
• Right-click rundll32.exe > Properties > Security > Advanced > Enable inheritance
• Apply > accept everything > OK
• Once out of the Security and Properties tabs, close Explorer window > Restart PC

Upon restart, your auto-update should be working again.

Answer 7

1. Go to Folder Options
2. Untick the two Quick Access options within the General tab under Privacy
3. Click Clear File Explorer History

Answer 8

Switching from a cloud-synced Microsoft account to a local user account worked for me.

• If doing so, you may want to remove your synced Win10 data from the MS servers