OK, this issue started a month or two ago and it has vexed me ever since. Whenever I download a file from IE or FF, or save an attachment from Outlook 2010 and save to my desktop the file does not show up until I either right-click and choose “Refresh” or hit F5 to refresh the desktop. The same thing happens when I extract a .zip or .rar file to my desktop, it doesn’t matter what the contents of the archive are, whether they be files or folders, nor the quantity extracted. It also doesn’t matter how many times I download files to the desktop or extract items from an archive, until I refresh my desktop the downloaded files/extracted items remain hidden. This does not happen if I choose any other location as my save to destination – the file shows up immediately upon completion of the download or extraction process. Also this doesn’t happen if I copy/paste a file or folder to the desktop. It shows up immediately as normal. Also, if I right-click and create a new folder, or document, etc. it also shows up right away without having to refresh the desktop. If I delete a file or folder it disappears immediately without having to refresh. One of the users over at SuperUser.com showed me how I can temporarily remedy the problem by renaming the IconCache.db and letting Windows recreate the file. This will alleviate the problem for 2 or 3 days, maybe 4 and then it happens again. I have also just noticed while writing this post that once I refresh the desktop and the missing file(s) reappear that the problem seems to go away. This is the first time I have noticed this since I usually do not download anything else once I have refreshed the desktop so I don’t know how long this will last. While “bouncing” the Icon cache works well it is still only a temporary fix at best. Has anyone else experienced anything like this or have any idea as to why this is happening? Does anyone know of a more permanent solution to the problem?
I don’t use any download managers, this is a relatively new install of Windows 7 Professional Retail, only about 6 months old, all updates have been installed, and I’m not sure what other information you might find helpful to solve this issue. My user folders (Documents, Downloads, Music, Videos & Pictures) reside on a different HDD other than the OS drive and I have changed the properties to point to their locations on the other drive but that was done immediately after installation of the OS. The Desktop folder and its contents still resides on the OS drive. I’m not sure what other information I may be forgetting to include in this post that you may find useful but please let me know if I can provide you with any other details.
Thanks So Much,
Val
I hope that this is an issue that Microsoft will look at providing a fix for at some time. While it is mostly just an inconvenience I think it still needs addressing. 
