Why Are There Black Boxes on Icons in Windows 11, and How Can I Fix Them?

Why do those pesky black boxes keep showing up around icons in Windows 11? If you\’ve ever scratched your head over this, you\’re not alone. Clearing the thumbnail cache might seem like a quick fix, but if the boxes make a return, there\’s probably more going on under the hood. From system settings acting up to icon cache issues, or even driver spats, it could be anything. Here\’s the lowdown on some tried-and-true fixes.

First up, let\’s mess with the icon settings. Sometimes, Windows themes play tricks on us—suddenly, your icons look weird. The trick is simple: go to your Settings, navigate to Personalization, then Themes, and finally Desktop icon settings. You\’ve got to turn off \’Allow themes to change desktop icons\’. It\’s like putting a padlock on your folder icons.

Now, if those black boxes are still playing hide and seek, you might want to take a crack at manually rebuilding the icon cache. Don\’t worry, it\’s not rocket science. Just pop open File Explorer, show hidden files (Folder Options > View > Show hidden files), and then head over to the local app data folder (just type %localappdata% in the Run dialog). In the Explorer folder, delete the files ending in .db, including the dreaded IconCache.db. Reboot your PC, and let Windows do its magic.

Onward to the registry! A little nudge here can fix corrupted icon references. Fire up \’regedit\’ with admin privileges. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\Shell Icons. Check out entry 29, and if it shows something like \’%windir%\\System32\\shell32.dll,-50\’, change it to \’%windir%\\System32\\shell32.dll,-51\’. Restart your PC, and hopefully, you\’ve given those settings a kick in the pants.

What about your GPU drivers? Sometimes they\’re the prime suspects in desktop drama. Through Device Manager, banish your current GPU driver. Hop onto your GPU manufacturer\’s site, snag the latest or, if a fresh update seems to be the villain, roll back to a previous version. Keeping your GPU drivers playing nice with Windows can fix a lot.

This one\’s a bit off the beaten path, but think about disabling hardware acceleration. Especially if you\’re running apps that love GPU acceleration—sometimes, turning this off can nix the icon issues. It\’s a bit like cutting the red wire, but totally worth a shot.

Finally, don\’t slack on those system file checks. If you\’ve been running DISM and SFC regularly but things are still janky, you might have deeper issues lurking in your Windows\’ inner workings. In that case, a repair install could be the way forward.

So, in a nutshell, you\’ve got a toolkit—personal icon setting tweaks, a cache revamp, registry dares, and driver peace-making efforts. They all bring you a bit closer to saying goodbye to those nagging black boxes. If nothing sticks, it might be worth checking if the Windows 11 Release Preview is giving you headaches—moving back to a stable release could be just the chill pill your system needs.

Running into black boxes over your desktop icons in Windows 11? Don’t sweat it; it’s happened to the best of us. It’s usually a hiccup with the icon cache or display settings. Here’s how you can tackle it:

• Rebuild the Icon Cache: Start by hitting Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch Task Manager. Hunt down and end the Windows Explorer process. Then, go to File, hit Run new task, and type cmd. Make sure you’ve ticked the box for admin privileges before clicking OK. In the Command Prompt, throw in the following commands one by one, pressing Enter after each:
  • cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
  • del IconCache.db /a
  • exit

  Finally, reboot your computer to bring the icons back from the brink.

• Update Display Driver: Right-click that Start button and select Device Manager. Under Display adapters, right-click your graphics driver and select Update driver. Choose Search automatically for drivers to see if there’s anything new. A restart after should do the trick.
• Tweak Display Settings: Give your settings a quick check by right-clicking the desktop and selecting Display settings. Make sure you’re running your recommended resolution and scaling. Got more than one monitor? Double-check those settings too.
• Run a System File Check: Crack open the Command Prompt with admin rights and type sfc /scannow. Let it scan for any rogue files messing things up. Once it’s done, give your system a reboot and see if that fixes things.

These solutions should get those pesky black boxes sorted. If they’re still sticking around, you might want to peek into recent updates or roll your system back to a sunnier time when the issue wasn’t around.

You might have noticed some pesky black boxes showing up on your icons in Windows 11. Honestly, it\’s not just you—it seems to be a pretty common glitch. So, why’s it happening? Well, a few culprits could be at play, like messed-up icon cache files or outdated graphic drivers. Maybe even a software hiccup is throwing things off. Let’s see how we can tackle this annoyance.

First off, check if the icon cache has gone on a break. It’s basically where Windows keeps little thumbnails of your icons, and sometimes it glitches out. Try this: open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc and kill Windows Explorer. Then pop open the Command Prompt as an admin and feed it these magic lines:

/d %localappdata%\\Microsoft\\Windows\\Explorer\ntaskkill /f /im explorer.exe\nattrib -h iconcache_*.db\ndel iconcache_*.db /a\nstart explorer.exe\n

Restart your computer and see if the gremlins have been kicked out.

Next, let’s talk graphics drivers. Outdated drivers are notorious for causing visual bugs. Hit Win+X, pop into Device Manager, and check your Display adapters. Right-click your graphics card and opt for Update driver. Let Windows do its thing and if the issue is still hanging around, try uninstalling the device. Restart, and it should auto-reinstall.

If you\’re still stuck, there might be some deeper system files causing a ruckus. Open Command Prompt (Admin) again and run these commands:

sfc /scannow\nDISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth\n

This gives your system files a nice scrub. Don’t forget to restart afterward.

What about those third-party apps? Sometimes they\’re not as friendly as they seem. Temporarily disable overlays from apps like Discord or your GPU\’s control panels. You can also clean boot your PC by hiding all Microsoft services in msconfig, disabling the rest, and rebooting.

High-resolution monitors and weird scaling settings could also be at fault. Right-click on your desktop, head to Display settings, and make sure your Scale and layout setting is on Recommended. You might want to toggle HDR settings too if that’s in play.

Still no luck? Resetting File Explorer could be your saving grace. Here’s what you do: go to the Registry Editor with Win+R and type regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer and delete the Shell Folders and User Shell Folders keys. But, back them up beforehand, just in case.

If none of these fixes hit the mark, it might be time to roll back to a System Restore point before the issue cropped up. An in-place OS upgrade may also help repair broken files without wiping your data. And, if you\’re feeling a bit adventurous, some third-party tools like Windows 11 Fixer can automate some of these repairs.

And for the future? Keep Windows and your drivers updated through Windows Update, steer clear of dodgy registry tweaks, and consider setting up a System Restore point before doing big software changes.

These tips should hopefully clear up those pesky black boxes. But if they’re still haunting your screen, it could point to a hardware issue with your GPU. Fingers crossed, these steps get you back to a smooth experience!