Solved What happened to my desktop icons?


10basetom

Member
Local time
9:52 PM
Posts
15
OS
Windows 11 Pro
I just got my first Windows 11 computer, and after spending a few days setting it up to the way I like it, I woke up one day and noticed that some of my desktop icons look puny now. Example:

2025-01-15_03-52.webp

Unless I'm losing my marbles, I could've sworn that the Notepad2 icon was as big as the other two icons before -- why/how did it suddenly become so small? I've tried deleting all the icon caches and the issue remains. Since this is happening with older programs like Notepad2, I'm guess it's because they lack the larger icon sizes in their EXE file, but the question remains: how was Windows able to show the icons the same size as the others before? I'm 99.99% sure I have never seen these square borders around any of the desktop icons before because they are so off-putting I would've noticed it 😅
 
Windows Build/Version
24H2

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD
I could've sworn that the Notepad2 icon was as big as the other two icons before...
I've never noticed that!
The NP2 exe has never had a 32-bit layer larger than 48x48.
Easy enough to change, though..., Google's your friend! :wink:

9225.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
You probably remember the new icon of the modern Notepad app. The "traditional" Notepad app has the icon of your photo and it might explain why it is not as large as the other two icons. Search for Notepad to see the modern app.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (build 22631.4249) test laptop, Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894) main PC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
You probably remember the new icon of the modern Notepad app. The "traditional" Notepad app has the icon of your photo and it might explain why it is not as large as the other two icons. Search for Notepad to see the modern app.

@spapakons
They are referring to Notepad2, not MS Notepad.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. TUF Gaming FX705GM
    CPU
    2.20 gigahertz Intel i7-8750H Hyper-threaded 12 cores
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX705GM 1.0
    Memory
    24428 Megabytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) Display Audio / Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (17.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9
    Hard Drives
    2 SSD SATA/NVM Express 1.3
    WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 500.1 GB
    WDCSDAPNUW-1002 256 GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 400MB Orange-fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    VMs of Windows 11 stable/Beta/Dev/Canary
    VM of XeroLinux- Arch based & Debian 12
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Insider Canary
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X751BP
    CPU
    AMD Dual Core A6-9220
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5 M420
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600X900 16:9
    Hard Drives
    1TB 5400RPM
Windows classic Notepad has a left facing icon, Notepad2 has a right facing icon. (I think it's a legal thing)

9227.webp 9228.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
  • Like
Reactions: OAT
I've never noticed that!
The NP2 exe has never had a 32-bit layer larger than 48x48.
Easy enough to change, though..., Google's your friend! :wink:

View attachment 122110
The first relevant result I found was eerily similar in tone to my message!


They left it as "it's a Windows 11 File Explorer bug". I still have another Windows 10 PC and can confirm that the icons look the same at medium size.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD
I... can confirm that the icons look the same at medium size.
At medium size, yeah!
Many older exe's only contain masking layers that, perhaps, go no larger than medium.

9229.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
And how Notepad2 differs from Notepad? Is Microsoft's or third-party?

EDIT: I get it, it is just a different Notepad++ with extra features. I just use plain Notepad or the modern app. I am not a programmer...
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (build 22631.4249) test laptop, Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894) main PC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
I just got my first Windows 11 computer, and after spending a few days setting it up to the way I like it, I woke up one day and noticed that some of my desktop icons look puny now.
Hi @10basetom,

The same thing happened to me, except it was the opposite: My desktop icons have doubled in size!

Now, I don't store anything on the desktop, so the only icon that is there is the Recycle Bin, but if I, for example, add a new folder or shortcut on the desktop, the icon is also huge. Since I don't navigate to the desktop often to do anything, I can't pinpoint exactly when I noticed the change, but I am pretty sure it was after this week's Patch Tuesday.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
    Memory
    32GB
    Hard Drives
    1TB
High resolution displays (1920x1080 or higher) automatically select scaling 125% or higher to make text more readable. This also enlarges the icons. If I can read the text I prefer 100% scaling, otherwise I go to the minimum readable.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (build 22631.4249) test laptop, Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894) main PC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
Hi @10basetom,

Since I don't navigate to the desktop often to do anything, I can't pinpoint exactly when I noticed the change, but I am pretty sure it was after this week's Patch Tuesday.
A ha, this sounds reasonable: Patch Tuesday. They changed something that resulted in this worse UX. I also don't see the desktop a lot, but the OCD side of me can't stand seeing such grievous inconsistency 🙈. I ended up setting Desktop icons to small and using WinSetView to set everything to List view (except in Pictures folders).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD
I have too updated to build 26100.2894, but didn't notice anything weird. It must be because I use 100% scaling in my monitor, so there are no inconsistencies. I would try to change the scaling to 100%, wait a few seconds, and then change it back to 125% or whatever it was before. This should force all icons to resize accordingly. It might work, it might not, I think it's worth a try.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (build 22631.4249) test laptop, Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894) main PC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Extensa 5630EZ
    CPU
    Mobile DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo T7250, 2000 MHz
    Motherboard
    Acer Extensa 5630
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M (Mobile 4 series)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC268 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB SATA Device (250 GB, SATA-III)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50 Mbps
    Browser
    MICROSOFT EDGE
    Antivirus
    WINDOWS DEFENDER
    Other Info
    Legacy MBR installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, no WDDM 2.0 graphics drivers, no SSE4.2, cannot get more unsupported ;) This is only my test laptop. I had installed Windows 11 here before upgrading my main PC. For my main PC I use everyday see my 2nd system specs.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro v24H2 (build 26100.2894)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom-built PC
    CPU
    Intel Core-i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155 (3rd generation)
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 s1155 ATX
    Memory
    2x Kingston Hyper-X Blu 8GB DDR3-1600
    Graphics card(s)
    Gainward NE5105T018G1-1070F (nVidia GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB GDDR5)
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio (ALC887)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia KDL-19L4000 19" LCD TV via VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 32-bit 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue SA510 2.5 1000GB SSD as system disk, Western Digital Caviar Purple 4TB SATA III (WD40PURZ) as second
    PSU
    Thermaltake Litepower RGB 550W Full Wired
    Case
    SUPERCASE MIDI-TOWER
    Cooling
    Deepcool Gamma Archer CPU cooler, 1x 8cm fan at the back
    Mouse
    Sunnyline OptiEye PS/2
    Keyboard
    Mitsumi 101-key PS/2
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Legacy BIOS (MBR) installation, no TPM, no Secure Boot, WDDM 3.0 graphics drivers, WEI score 7.4
I have too updated to build 26100.2894, but didn't notice anything weird. It must be because I use 100% scaling in my monitor, so there are no inconsistencies. I would try to change the scaling to 100%, wait a few seconds, and then change it back to 125% or whatever it was before. This should force all icons to resize accordingly. It might work, it might not, I think it's worth a try.
Sure, I'll give it a try out of curiosity when I get to the computer, but my old eyes are not comfortable at anything less than the default 250% on the 4K laptop screen.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD
UPDATE: I see what's going on now...it seems like the last update messed up scaling in general, not only icon rendering. For example, this is literally what I see when I use Greenshot:

1736984151895.webp

The icons are so microscopic it makes this program unusable on my laptop now, even at the recommended 250% scaling. The problem is the scaling is no longer working for many apps like this one, whereas before the update it was scaling just fine. I believe the desktop icon rendering is related to this issue.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD
The icons are so microscopic it makes this program unusable on my laptop now, even at the recommended 250% scaling. The problem is the scaling is no longer working for many apps like this one...
Definitely not DPI aware..., the program hasn't been updated since 2017!
You can change the size of the icons in Settings, though, even though they look like crap...

9232.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
UPDATE: I see what's going on now...it seems like the last update messed up scaling in general, not only icon rendering. For example, this is literally what I see when I use Greenshot:

View attachment 122174

The icons are so microscopic it makes this program unusable on my laptop now, even at the recommended 250% scaling. The problem is the scaling is no longer working for many apps like this one, whereas before the update it was scaling just fine. I believe the desktop icon rendering is related to this issue.

Try the external manifest fix I posted here. See if that resolves, at least, your greenshot scaling issue.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
Definitely not DPI aware..., the program hasn't been updated since 2017!
You can change the size of the icons in Settings, though, even though they look like crap...

View attachment 122177
The same thing happens with a more modern app like Flameshot: microscopic icons. However, the point I was trying to make was all this used to render fine before, but now I'm having to spend time to research and patch up the issues introduced by the last patch.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD

Try the external manifest fix I posted here. See if that resolves, at least, your greenshot scaling issue.
Thanks, I'll give it a shot.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD
The same thing happens with a more modern app like Flameshot: microscopic icons. However, the point I was trying to make was all this used to render fine before, but now I'm having to spend time to research and patch up the issues introduced by the last patch.
I hear ya...,
Just to be clear..., you're using a 16" Laptop screen, at 4K resolution, with the DPI set at 250%???
I can't even begin to imagine the glitches you're running into!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Strix
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS VivoBook
I hear ya...,
Just to be clear..., you're using a 16" Laptop screen, at 4K resolution, with the DPI set at 250%???
I can't even begin to imagine the glitches you're running into!
It's the default setting on the ThinkPad P16, a popular business laptop supplied by many corporations, so you'd think it would provide decent "out of the box" experience on Windows 11. Well, to be fair it DID when I first set it up last week. I believe people have reported this issue to MS already, so hopefully they will get this regression fixed in a future patch 🤞
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ThinkPad P16s
    CPU
    AMD
    Memory
    64GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" OLED
    Screen Resolution
    4K
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 1TB SSD
Back
Top Bottom