Windows 11 taskbar and file icons missing for system apps only


I

ivan19891101

New member
Local time
3:00 AM
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2
OS
Windows 11 Pro
Hello,

I am using

Microsoft Windows 11 Pro,
version 10.0.26200, build 26200.

The issue affects icons for Windows/system apps only. On the Windows 11 taskbar, icons are missing or blank for built-in/system apps such as Snipping Tool, Notepad, Calculator, Windows PowerShell, and similar Microsoft apps.

Third-party installed apps, such as Google Chrome, display their taskbar icons correctly.

The issue also appears in File Explorer. In Details view, files associated with default Windows apps do not show their file-type icons. For example, .txt files associated with Notepad do not have visible icons. However, files associated with third-party apps do show icons correctly, for example .mp4 files associated with VLC.

The icons are visible in the Start menu and Windows Search. The affected apps also open and work normally. The issue appears to be with icon display only, not with launching the apps.

This issue appears to be specific to my regular user account. If I sign out and log in with an administrator account on the same PC, the problem does not occur there. My regular account is a local account.

What I have already tried:

  • Searched online for the same or similar issue.
  • Tried clearing/rebuilding the icon cache.
  • Tried multiple suggested fixes from ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
  • Tried suggestions ranging from manually deleting cache/icon files to making registry changes with PC reboot .
  • None of the attempted fixes resolved the issue.
Because the issue happens only under one Windows user profile and not under the administrator account, I suspect it may be related to a per-user icon cache, user profile corruption, per-user app registration, or file association/icon handler settings for Microsoft Store/system apps.

I would like help identifying the root cause and fixing the missing icons without creating a new Windows user profile if possible.

PowerShell

Code: 
PS C:\Users\user> Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 20 HotFixID, Description, InstalledOn, InstalledBy | Format-Table -AutoSize
HotFixID  Description     InstalledOn           InstalledBy
--------  -----------     -----------           -----------
KB5092762 Security Update 5/13/2026 12:00:00 AM NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
KB5089549 Security Update 5/13/2026 12:00:00 AM NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
KB5087051 Update          5/13/2026 12:00:00 AM NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
KB5054156 Update          2/24/2026 12:00:00 AM NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
KB5054273 Update          9/26/2025 12:00:00 AM NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
KB5050575 Update          9/26/2025 12:00:00 AM NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM
KB5065847 Update          9/26/2025 12:00:00 AM NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM

https://imgur.com/EcJg5uc

Thank you.
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11 Pro, version 10.0.26200, build 26200

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
is this a cloned drive by chance?

you cleared icon cache, but did you clear thumbnail cache too?

Code: 
@echo off

echo.
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
timeout 2 /nobreak>nul
echo.

DEL /F /Q /A %LocalAppData%\IconCache.db
DEL /F /S /Q /A %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_*.db
DEL /F /S /Q /A %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db

timeout 2 /nobreak>nul
start explorer.exe


and reregister the dlls

Code: 
regsvr32 /i shell32.dll
regsvr32 /i imageres.dll
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
@dacrone thank you

Code: 
C:\Users\user>taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
SUCCESS: The process "explorer.exe" with PID 4236 has been terminated.

C:\Users\user>DEL /F /Q /A %LocalAppData%\IconCache.db

C:\Users\user>DEL /F /S /Q /A %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_*.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_1280.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_16.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_1920.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_256.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_2560.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_32.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_48.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_768.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_96.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_custom_stream.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_exif.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_idx.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_sr.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_wide.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_wide_alternate.db

C:\Users\user>DEL /F /S /Q /A %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_1280.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_16.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_1920.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_256.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_2560.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_32.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_48.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_768.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_96.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_custom_stream.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_exif.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_idx.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_sr.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_wide.db
Deleted file - C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_wide_alternate.db

C:\Users\user>start explorer.exe

C:\Users\user>regsvr32 /i shell32.dll

C:\Users\user>regsvr32 /i imageres.dll

Doesn't help. :( Icons are missing. I even tried it twice with reboot after.

Last commands `regsvr32 /i imageres.dll` or `regsvr32 /i shell32.dll` prompts an alert with unsuccessful error message.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
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