Desktop icons show up as the unknown file icon
Have your desktop icons suddenly changed into the icon that Windows uses for unknown file types?
Scenario
Icons from the desktop and in certain other places had been replaced by the unknown file type icon. Refreshing the desktop and restarting Windows does not help.
Solution
In my situation the problem had to do with the icon cache corrupting itself after the screen saver had crashed. This is quite simple to fix, first right click on your desktop and click Properties (Personalize for Vista users), Vista users will need to click on “Window Color and Appearance”, “Open classic appearance properties for more color options” and “Advanced”, XP users will need to click on the “Appearance” tab and then “Advanced”.
In here click on the “Item” drop down menu and select “Icon”, next to that should be a field called “Size”. In here change the value to 1 higher than what it currently is (usually 32) and click “OK” then click “Apply” in the “Advanced Appearance” window. You should now notice the icons on your desktop have returned to normal. Before you close everything go back into “Advanced” and change the icon size back to what it was, click “OK” and then “Apply” again.
You should now be back to normal. If the problem persists then in your situation it may not be the icon cache that is causing the issue.
NOTE: The problem occurred for me on an XP machine so I do not know if this works on Vista but it’s worth a shot.
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