Icons not showing in Windows Search Box on Windows 11/10

Icons help a user to identify that file easily without reading much into the details. Both the complexity and visual appearance of the software go down when these icons are not shown. Some users are reporting that icons are not showing in the Windows Search Results Box on Windows 11/10. The icons just disappear or are replaced by some low-resolution generic icons. In this article, we show how to fix the issue and get icons back.

Why are my icons not showing up on Windows 11?

There can be a number of causes for the icons to now show in the Start menu search or other places on Windows 11. Some of them can be the cache file being damaged, thumbnail previews not getting saved on the operating system, etc. You can fix them easily by rebuilding the thumbnail cache, changing icon scaling, etc.

Icons not showing in Windows Search Box on Windows 11/10

When you search for something in the Windows 11/10 Start menu and do not see the icons for the search results, you can fix the issue in the following ways.

1. Change Icon Scaling
2. Use the Command Prompt
3. Enable saving taskbar thumbnail previews

Let’s get into the details of each method.

1] Change Icon Scaling

In Windows 11, open Settings > Accessibility > Display > Text size. Move the slider so as to increase the text size, click Apply and see.

In Windows 10, press the WIN + I combo to launch the Settings App. Now navigate to Ease of Access> Display.

Toggle the Change the size of apps and text on the main display setting to +25% of the current selection.

Reboot your computer and check if that has fixed your issues.

2] Use the Command Prompt

Run Command Prompt as Administrator and execute the following commands one by one:

ie4uinit.exe -show 
taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F 
DEL /A /Q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"
DEL /A /F /Q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"
shutdown /r /f /t 00

The last command will reboot your computer.

After it boots back up, check if your issue is now fixed.

You could also manually Rebuild the Icon Cache and see if it helps. Users may want to use Thumbnail and Icon Cache Rebuilder, which lets you purge, and rebuild Thumbnail and Icon Cache in a click.

3] Enable saving Taskbar Thumbnail Previews

Start by hitting the WIN + R combo to launch the Run utility. Now type in sysdm.cpl and hit Enter. Select the System Properties tab.

Click on the Advanced tab. Click on Settings under the Performance tab. It will open a Performance options window. In the Visual Effects tab, check the button beside Custom.

Then, check the box beside the Save taskbar thumbnail previews.

Select Apply and then select OK.

Reboot your computer and check if that has fixed your issues.

Also read: Desktop icons not showing in Windows 11

How do I fix blank icons in Windows 11?

When you see blank icons on Windows 11, you can fix them easily by restarting File Explorer, fixing corrupt files, fixing Local Group Policy settings, re-installing programs whose icons are missing, or performing a System Restore. You can also rebuild the icon cache and see if it fixes the issue.

Related read: How to change File and Folder Icons in Windows 11.