Issue - some app icon without graphic

Question

Issue - some app icon without graphic

Salka, Milan 111

Hello,

for some app icon isn´t visible graphic (see attached animated gif).

Issue firstly found last week.

Affected applications (used Win11 Ent 25H2 build 26200.9168)

Paint,
Notepad,
Teams,
Snipping Tool,
System settings.

0 comments

3 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

VPHAN 42,425 Independent Advisor

this is an operating system-level defect rather than a simple file corruption, no manual directory modification or local command will permanently restore the missing graphics. Perhaps you will need to wait for Microsoft to deploy an official cumulative update or a newer build flight that explicitly patches this shell rendering bug.

Salka, Milan 111 Reputation points

2026-09-03T19:35:55.69+00:00

Yes, it seems like gradual missing graphics from last update. We will see. Thanks.

Answer 2

Hi Salka, Milan,

you must clear the corrupted cache files so Windows can rebuild them, which requires temporarily shutting down the desktop interface so the files are unlocked.

Open Command Prompt as an administrator and type taskkill /f /im explorer.exe. Your desktop background and taskbar will disappear, which allows you to safely manipulate the system files. Next, type cd %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer to navigate to the directory hosting the cache databases. Execute the command del iconcache* to permanently delete all the corrupted visual data. Once the deletion is complete, simply type explorer.exe to restart the graphical shell. Your taskbar will immediately reappear, and the operating system will rebuild the cache, restoring the missing graphics to Paint, Notepad, and your other affected apps.

Hope this answer has brought you some useful information. If it did, please hit “accept answer”. Should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

VPHAN

Salka, Milan 111 Reputation points

2026-09-03T19:12:40.37+00:00

Hello @VPHAN ,

thank you for answer.

I follow your steps - only task Manager regenerated.

Rest (Snipping Tool, Notepad, Paint and Teams) stay unchanged.

Milan Salka

Answer 3

This symptom matches the Windows blank icon issue, where app shortcuts on the desktop, Start menu, or taskbar show blank icons even though the apps still open normally. The documented fixes are:

Clear the icon cache.
Warning: this restarts Windows Explorer, so save open work first.
- Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
- In Processes, find Windows Explorer.
- Right-click Windows Explorer and select End task.
- In Task Manager, select File > Run new task.
- Type cmd.exe and create the task with administrative privileges.
- Run:
```
   CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
   DEL IconCache.db /a
```
- In Task Manager, select File > Run new task again.
- Type explorer.exe and press Enter.

Re-register Shell Experience Host.
If clearing the icon cache does not fix the missing graphics, open Windows PowerShell as administrator and run:

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

Then restart Windows.

If the issue is specifically that the network or internet icon is missing from the taskbar, check this policy setting: User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu and Taskbar\Hide the notification area

If the affected icons are only blank for one user profile and not for another account on the same PC, the related Q&A indicates the user profile can be partially corrupted.