Thumbnails not appearing on icons

If thumbnails are not appearing on icons in Windows 11, it could be related to issues with the icon cache or settings in the system. Here are some steps you can try to resolve the issue:

1. Clear the Icon Cache: Sometimes, the icon cache can become corrupted. You can clear it by following these steps:
   • Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
   • Find and select Windows Explorer, then right-click and choose End task.
   • In Task Manager, go to File > Run new task and type cmd.exe, then create a task with administrative privileges.
   • In the command prompt, type the following commands:

          CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
          DEL IconCache.db /a
     

   • Restart Windows Explorer by going back to Task Manager, selecting File > Run new task, typing explorer.exe, and pressing Enter.
2. Check Folder Options: Ensure that the option to show thumbnails is enabled:
   • Open File Explorer.
   • Click on the View menu, then select Options.
   • In the Folder Options dialog, go to the View tab and make sure that Always show icons, never thumbnails is unchecked.
3. Re-register Shell Experience Host: This can help if the issue is related to the Shell Experience:
   • Open Windows PowerShell as an administrator.
   • Run the following command:

          Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Where-Object {$_.InstallLocation -like "*ShellExperienceHost*"} | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
     

   • Restart your system.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may need to look into further troubleshooting or consider reaching out to Microsoft support for assistance.

References:

• Application shortcuts on the desktop, Start menu, and taskbar show blank icons