Windows 10 Image Thumbnails Flash then Disappear in Explorer

Anonymous
2017-12-05T17:15:02+00:00

I'm running Windows 10 Pro, Version 1703. Basically, whenever I open a folder, the image thumbnails will flash then disappear, and I've maid sure my "Always show Icons, Not Thumbnails" is unchecked. I have no idea what the problem is, as that was the only solution I could seem to find. Thank you!

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

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Anonymous
2018-01-01T13:46:04+00:00

I just learned that if you deactivate the OneDrive "save space and download files as you use them" feature (i.e. leave all OneDrive files on your PC) then the thumbnail problem is fixed.  In addition, the Photos app now shows these files (which it did not do before, even though the files were locally "always" stored on the PC).

There is clearly a bug in the change to OneDrive -- don't get me wrong, the selective sync feature is nice, but it is affecting the thumbnail process somehow.

Moderator's note:

You can disable OneDrive Files On-Demand feature using these steps:

  1. Right click OneDrive icon on taskbar, select Settings.
  2. In Settings tab, under Files On-Demand, uncheck Save space and download files as you use them option.
  3. Click OK.

Note: Microsoft has updated the information in this reply, to benefit users facing this issue.

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-02-09T19:39:17+00:00

    This has been bugging me for a couple of weeks, I've also found that any folders in One drive are tragically slow compared to others.

    I found initially that pausing One Drive sync sped up folder use but not if I was making changes so I guess something is storing a growing list of changes, but then as if by magic when I resume syncing all of my pictures reappear as they should.

    So I can sync and have really slow drives all the time or not sync and have drives that appear to get slower gradually. 

    Come on Microsoft there is no good excuse for One drive performing this badly.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-01-23T04:19:01+00:00

    Hey, I note today that my thumbnails are coming through perfectly now.  The latest update fixed the problem.  It took a while . . . a long while . . . but I'm grateful to have it working correctly again.  Thx.  Ron

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-01-04T13:34:24+00:00

    I'm having the same problem but I don't use Onedrive. I save data to a remote NAS drive which also backs up to Google drive  located on my D drive. I too have tried ALL of the suggested fixes listed.

    I use images for my work and this is having a very negative impact on my productivity. 

    It is very disappointing that the best Microsoft can offer is for us to raise an issue on the feedback hub in the hope that an engineer may pick up on it when clearly this is a widespread problem that has coincided with the latest major update.

    Although I am trying to retain perspective with this I'm seriously considering changing operating system.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-01-02T17:15:21+00:00

    KTPace,

    I was having this problem with one of our Surface Pros. None of the previous solutions worked, however syncing the OneDrive share fully stopped the flickering/refresh issue. Uncheck "save space and download files as you use them" in OneDrive Settings.

    I believe the issue in general is related to the OneDrive sync icons.

    Thanks for your help, hopefully someone else having the issue comes across these posts.

    Thanks for your reply.  For me, the "save space and download files as you use them" in OneDrive was already unchecked, so that was not a solution that worked.  I do appreciate any other efforts others have found to be useful.

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