Restore XP style thumbnails on Folders?


L

Lee151

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12
OS
Win 11 Home
I just purchased a Dell Inspiron desktop with Win 11. I have been using a custom built Win XP desktop for the last 15 years. Quite the adjustment.....
In Win 11 I'm seeing a sea of blank yellow folders in my Documents and Pictures. Is there any work around to get the XP style pictures back on the folders?

I have hundreds of folders and this change is really slowing me down while working. I used to be able to tell at a glance which folder I needed to open because of the thumbnails. I have searched and I've found how to update individual icons but not restoring XP folder thumbnails. I can't assign a new icon to each folder one by one that would take years!
 
Windows Build/Version
build 22000.675

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 11 Home
OS
Win 11 Home
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Inspiron
Lee
I had the SAME issue having recently moved to a new desktop, with WIN11, after YEARS of using XP.....
I know of no other way of changing the view other than touching each one individually....
YES- very time consuming!!!!!!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

WIN11 HOME Version 24H211th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700 @ 2.50GHz...32GBNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER
OS
WIN11 HOME Version 24H2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
DELL XPS 8940
CPU
11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700 @ 2.50GHz 2.50 GH
Motherboard
Dell OE
Memory
32GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER
Sound Card
Realtek Audio (on board)
Monitor(s) Displays
(2) DELL 2007FP
Screen Resolution
1600 X 1200
Hard Drives
C: (OS and APPS) 512GB SSD
D: (data) 1TB SATA
PSU
360W
Case
DELL OE
Cooling
Noctua NF-A9 PWM 92mm case fan and NH-D9L CPU Cooler with 92mm fan
Keyboard
Dell
Mouse
Logitech M705
Internet Speed
1Gb DWN 1Gb UP
Browser
FIREFOX- once in a great while will use EDGE
Antivirus
MS
Other Info
The case fan and CPU cooler were after purchase upgrades...the i7 cpu runs hot and the OE solution can best be described as marginal when CPU intensive apps are used.
ALSO added VRM and SSD passive heatsinks.
Lee151 said:
In Win 11 I'm seeing a sea of blank yellow folders in my Documents and Pictures. Is there any work around to get the XP style pictures back on the folders?
Click to expand...
You just have to wait for this year's Feature Update to version 22H2 to be released. A number of features were in W10, but got left out for the initial release of W11. This is one that's coming back due to feedback from Insiders.

www.elevenforum.com

Change Folder Picture in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to choose an image file to show as a picture on a folder's icon in Windows 11. Starting with Windows 11 build 22557, File Explorer will show a thumbnail preview of folder contents on the folder's icon. Usually, the last item added to the folder will show as a...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

When 22H2 will be released has not been announced by Microsoft yet, but it could be early as September.

www.elevenforum.com

Windows 11 22H2 (Sun Valley 2) RTM build 22621 general availability after Sept. 5, 2022

UPDATE 8/16: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/windows-11-version-22h2-build-22621-rumored-to-be-released-on-september-20-2022.8361/ UPDATE 6/7: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/preview-of-windows-11-version-22h2-now-available.6930/ UPDATE 5/24: Windows 11, version 22H2 certification build Minimum...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 
Last edited:

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to lid hinges starting to break up this laptop has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    I've now clean installed 25H2 and used Garlin's scripts to update Secure Boot to CA 2023 and revoke the PCA 2011 certificates. It's new role is to test secure boot issues.

    Info for 2021-2026:
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR was a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (1st gen) type 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device. This has now been sold. It has been replaced by my System Eight.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, 1920x1080 touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine. As its new home has an existing digital licence for Pro I've been able to upgrade the migrated OS from Home to Pro.

    My SYSTEM EIGHT is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e (5th gen) type 20LN, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, a supported device for Windows 11. Currently running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Experimental 263xx and 29xxx builds as native boot vhdx.
That will be an improvement thanks but not as useful as XP's thumbnail collage. Heavy sigh.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 11 Home
OS
Win 11 Home
Manufacturer/Model
Dell Inspiron
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