Problems Solved
In Windows 7 you can rebuild your icon cache by deleting a file called Iconcache.db and clicking Yes to confirm (below)
What’s wrong with my Start icons?
QMy Windows PC’S Start menu intermittently shows incorrect icons alongside some programs. For example, recently the Firefox icon appeared against Ccleaner and some other software. It seems to cause no other problems, but I am curious about what’s going on. Susan Berrieman
AWindows stores software icons in one or more cache files. This saves the computer having to root around the hard drive to find the icons for all the programs installed on your PC.
However, if for some reason your PC is experiencing a slow startup then it might take Windows a while to get around to finish reading the cache file (or files), before populating the Start menu with the correct icons. So, the key question is: are the incorrect icons eventually replaced by correct ones?
If yes, then a slow launch is the fundamental problem here.
Regular Computeractive readers know there’s no single fix for a slow startup or PC, but we do deliver regular advice on this topic. Issue 540 explained how to speed up a computer by clearing hidden junk; and back in Issue 531 we explored how to make Windows run like new. If you missed either of these, give our back-issues hotline a call, on 0330 333 9493, or buy our new Back Issues CD for 2018 (see page 34).
But, if the correct icons don’t eventually snap back into place, then corruption is the root cause of your problem. In that case a different approach is required – and that’s to rebuild the Windows’ icon cache file or files.
In Windows 7 this involves deleting just one file. First press Windows key+e to launch Windows Explorer. Next, navigate to C:\users\yourusername\appdata\ Local. Now look for a file called Iconcache.db, then right-click it and choose Delete (see screenshots above). Click Yes to confirm the deletion, then restart your PC. The cache file will be rebuilt automatically.
For a Windows 10 PC the process is more involved, and best executed in a Command Prompt window. First, close all running applications, other than Windows itself. Now click the Start button, type cmd, then right-click Command Prompt and choose ‘Run as administrator’. Next, in the Command Prompt window type cd C:\users\ Yourusername\appdata\ Local\microsoft\windows\explorer and press Enter. The command prompt should change to reflect that it’s now pointing at this folder. To check you’re in the right place, type dir and press Enter: you should see a directory of files with names beginning with ‘iconcache’. Next, type del iconcache* and press Enter, being sure to include the asterisk on the end.
If this works, restart your PC and the cache files will be automatically rebuilt. However, if you receive an error warning of files not being deleted, then you’ll need to perform one more step, to ensure nothing else is running. Press Control (Ctrl)+shift+escape to summon Task Manager then, in the Processes tab, right-click Windows Explorer and choose ‘End task’ (see screenshot left). Now flip back to the Command Prompt window and follow the above instructions.
Finally, as the Windows Explorer shell has been forced-closed, you won’t be able to shut down in the normal way. Instead, press Ctrl+alt+delete and then click ‘Sign out’.