Refresh Icon Cache Without Rebooting

Question

Normally, to refresh the icon cache in Windows, we have to reboot.

Is there a way to refresh the icon cache in Windows 7/8 without rebooting?

Elmo · Accepted Answer · 2016-04-07T14:28:53.923

401

Yes.

You can just run the following command to clear the icon cache:

ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache

For Windows 10, use:

ie4uinit.exe -show

Check this video for a demo.

[tip credit]

edited Apr 07 '16 at 14:28

answered Nov 03 '12 at 17:43

Elmo

14,879

score 59 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 29 '16 at 20:52

The following way has worked since Vista; It requires an Explorer restart, but no reboot.

Short version: Stop all explorer.exe instances, delete the user's hidden IconCache.db file, and restart Explorer.

Long Version (there are other ways as well):

Close all Explorer windows that are currently open.
Launch Task Manager using the CTRL+SHIFT+ESC key sequence, or by running taskmgr.exe.
In the Process tab, right-click on the explorer.exe process and select End Process.
Click the End process button when asked for confirmation.
From the File menu of Task Manager, select New Task (Run…)
Type CMD.EXE, and click OK
In the Command Prompt window, type the commands one by one and press ENTER after each command:
```
CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
DEL IconCache.db /a
EXIT
```
In Task Manager, click File, select New Task (Run…)
Type EXPLORER.EXE, and click OK.

instruction steps source

Warning: It's important that Explorer.exe not be running when you delete the IconCache.db file. If explorer is running, it will simply write out the current (corrupt) icons the next time it is shut down (e.g. when you logoff, shutdown, or restart).

score 31 · Answer 3 · edited Nov 11 '24 at 23:15

Open command console with admin privileges
taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F
CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
DEL IconCache.db /a
start explorer.exe via Task Manager

Place all above "commands" in a new batch file named "ClearIconsCache.bat" in a safe place on your hdd. Start with:

@echo off

#Omit 1, 2, 5.

#Only use 3 and 4 [combined into 1 command],

#then add new lines:

DEL %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft \Windows\thumbcache_*.db

ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache

exit

Save and Execute batchfile to "clear IconsCache" whenever corrupt. NO NEED TO REBOOT!

score 14 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 01 '16 at 18:38

14

Create a .bat file and paste the following lines in it and then run it.

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
del IconCache.db /a
start explorer.exe

answered Jul 01 '16 at 18:38

omerfarukdogan

248

score 8 · Answer 5 · edited Feb 21 '23 at 19:00

There's a clean way to close the Explorer.exe instance which shows the taskbar and the Desktop icons.

You have to popup the classic Shutdown dialog window. The only common way I found to accomplish this is:

Leave at least one pixel of Desktop background free of overlapping Windows, then click on it to focus on the Desktop itself (the one with the icons).
Press ALT + F4 keyboard shortcut: then the classic Shutdown dialog will appear.
Now, press and hold CTRL+ALT+SHIFT and click on Cancel.

score 5 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 05 '18 at 11:48

If you don't want to make a .bat, copy the line behind, press Win+R, paste it and press Enter.

cmd /c taskkill /f /im explorer.exe & del /a %userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db & start explorer

You can also paste it in the address bar of an explorer window; and, of course, in a command line window (you don't need the cmd /c then) but you won't have the line to easily repeat it in case you need it again.

CAVEAT:

Don't run this line in an elevated prompt unless you're sure you are the only user in the system or you will kill explorer in all open sessions. Therefore, don't press Shift+Ctrl+Enter in the Run dialog box.

By the way, I don't see the need of the cd /d command I see repeatedly. It seems everybody just copy/paste without considering what are the commands for.

Note:

I use & instead of && just in case one of the commands fails, to ensure explorer is restarted.

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 12 '19 at 21:38

ie4uinit.exe as suggested by Elmo is a good option because it is available on every system already. I had trouble with it not refreshing sometimes in a complex batch file I have. Nircmd is a great alternative that worked for me.

This is the command I used that worked: nircmd shellrefresh

Mike Kaganski · Answer 8 · 2019-01-06T12:42:51.100

Though not a userland answer, simple call to

SHChangeNotify(SHCNE_ASSOCCHANGED, SHCNF_IDLIST, NULL, NULL);

does that [1]. Possibly someone would create an utility to do just that; currently, using 7-zip and trying to modify file associations (for all users; without elevating permissions; which would fail and tell that operation failed) calls the notifications and rebuilds the icon cache.

Oh, just saw the comments to the accepted answer, where the call is discussed, and a tool for that is mentioned: https://github.com/crazy-max/IconsRefresh.

[1] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/api/shlobj_core/nf-shlobj_core-shchangenotify

score 0 · Answer 9 · answered Sep 03 '16 at 17:24

If you want a complete refreshed icon cache, go to the addressbar of windows explorer and type "C:\Users*Username*\AppData\Local" and then delete IconCache.db.

**Note:**It may be a hidden file. So I recommend turning Show Hidden Files on in Folder Option.

score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Apr 20 '24 at 14:34

I ran into this same problem, something that looked like the text icon covered all of the icons on the desktop that were links. I tried ie4uinit but it didn't work. I didn't want to delete the icon database, and thought I'd wait for the next reboot: but I also had a couple of application updates waiting, so I installed one (it happened to be SumatraPDF, but I don't think that's entirely relevant). When I did that, the desktop icons reset and now look correct. This is not as wacky as it might sound; I have noticed in the past that installing an application often causes all of the icons on the desktop to be refreshed, especially if the application itself adds or changes an icon. This might not be the preferred solution, but it fixed the problem for me without having to mess with the database.

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Aug 14 '24 at 16:21

This worked for me:

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).

See https://superuser.com/a/1266768/302402

score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Sep 15 '24 at 21:04

0

This tool from GitHub to refresh icon cache without restarting or killing explorer.exe still works well also on Windows 11:

https://github.com/crazy-max/IconsRefresh/

Quick and convenient. Just double-click on it or use it from the CMD prompt.

answered Sep 15 '24 at 21:04

hexaae

382

score -4 · Answer 13 · answered Nov 27 '16 at 06:44

-4

Not very beautiful but effective:

C:> tskill explorer

answered Nov 27 '16 at 06:44

Beau Key

1

Refresh Icon Cache Without Rebooting

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