Funny Icons

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I’ve got this one that has been roaming on my mind for some time… And I hadn’t found anyone that could give me a real answer. When I turn my PC on I find that the icons do not match the type of document that I have there. For example, Word files appear with a Winamp icon, MP3s appear with a folder icon, XLSs appear with a dll icon… and this is not always the same; I mean the image is not always the same. I thought that this was a virus, but I haven’t found any, although I have scanned my system with several virus detection programs. Does anyone have a clue what may be causing this? I have office 97 installed, if it might be of any help.

TIA!

The Baru Guru

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Check this thread from the WinME forum – the same applies.
My money would be on your ShellIconCache…

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I can only bow…

Extra speed! Amazing!

The Baru Guru

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You may find the problem keeps recurring — as you IconCache keeps getting full. You can increase your IconCache size by editing the registry, however, a more convenient way is to use this .reg file and then modify the IconCacheSize by using the Folder Options | View dialog box.
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REGEDIT4

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerAdvancedIconCache]
“Text”=”Icon Cache Size”
“Type”=”group”
“Bitmap”=”SHDOC401.DLL,6”
“HelpID”=”update.hlp#51140”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerAdvancedIconCacheSmall]
“RegPath”=”SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorer”
“Text”=”1024 Icons”
“Type”=”radio”
“CheckedValue”=”1024”
“ValueName”=”Max Cached Icons”
“DefaultValue”=”2048”
“HKeyRoot”=dword:80000002
“HelpID”=”update.hlp#51140”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerAdvancedIconCacheMedium]
“RegPath”=”SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorer”
“Text”=”2048 Icons”
“Type”=”radio”
“CheckedValue”=”2048”
“ValueName”=”Max Cached Icons”
“DefaultValue”=”2048”
“HKeyRoot”=dword:80000002
“HelpID”=”update.hlp#51140”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerAdvancedIconCacheLarge]
“RegPath”=”SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorer”
“Text”=”4096 Icons”
“Type”=”radio”
“CheckedValue”=”4096”
“ValueName”=”Max Cached Icons”
“DefaultValue”=”2048”
“HKeyRoot”=dword:80000002
“HelpID”=”update.hlp#51140”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionexplorerAdvancedIconCacheHuge]
“RegPath”=”SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorer”
“Text”=”8192 Icons”
“Type”=”radio”
“CheckedValue”=”8192”
“ValueName”=”Max Cached Icons”
“DefaultValue”=”2048”
“HKeyRoot”=dword:80000002
“HelpID”=”update.hlp#51140”
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NOTE: I borrowed this from someone else (a site that no longer displays this information), but I think the concept is a little off. The “size” should not be in “Icons” but instead in MegaBytes of data…

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An interesting REG hack. If you want to correct the text that is displayed, you can modify it – from “1024 Icons” to something appropriate, such as “1024kb” and then you’ll have an accurate display.

Also, if you want to remove this “hack” after the fact, add a minus sign prior to each [HKEY…. line and save the file as RemoveIconCacheHack or similar. This also works for other REG files, if you’re like me and play with these things.

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Yeah, I just was too lazy to correct it!

There is an arguement that the maximum IconCache is 2MB — because that is what the MSKB says. But… many of us have used larger and it seems to work. I’ll dig up some more details — if you are interested.

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I’ve seen the Microsoft article you refer to, and my suspicion is that they recommend against increasing the size too much simply to cover their behinds. I tend to adjust the cache to the 4MB range – at least on systems with enough RAM – just because memory is umpteen times faster than disk access. I don’t recall ever having a problem with the increased size.

I did like the reg hack simply because it adds the option to the Windows shell, and is easily changeable from there. Seems much simpler than using X-setup or another tool to perform the changes. If you’re inclined to find more out about this subject, more power to you – it can inly help to have the knowledge!

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I dunno much about registry hacking, though I’d like no know more. Now that I think of it, something similar happened to my Office Shortcut Bar even before having this issue in windows. When I put too many shortcuts in it, the Icons would go crazy. Does it also have to do with an overwhelmed Icon Cache?

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Strangely, I do not seem to be able to locate the MSKB article which gave the “2000” limit. One of the arguements I have previously seen involved whether or not the numbers should be 1000|2000|4000 — or 1024|2048|4096. People would reference that article to show that 1024 was not necessary.

OR… perhaps I have found the MSKB article, but now the article gives a maximum limit of 4094! Here is the link: Icons Randomly Change to Different Icons (Q132668).

You will note that the page was “Last Modifed” Feb 3 2002 8:46PM. I’ll bet MS modified this page to increase the maximum size to 4094 — a strange number.

I wonder if I can find that page cached on google with different numbers…
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You’ve got to love google!! YES, here is the cached version of that page. You will note it says:

“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorer
and then restart your computer. If the icons are still incorrect, delete the ShellIconCache file. The “Max Cached Icons” value data range is between 100 and *2000*. The default value is 500.”

And here is another source with information obviously derived from the old MSKB page.

Then I found the following on a now defunct PCmag page:

“To increase the size of the icon cache, you don’t have to load the powerful Regedit program. Instead, save the following three lines as Maxcache.reg:

REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoft
WindowsCurrentVersionexplorer]
“Max Cached Icons”=dword:00001000

Keep in mind that the middle block of code is enclosed in square brackets and should be entered on one line. When you double-click Maxcache.reg, the Max Cached Icons value will be set to 4096–the decimal equivalent of the hexadecimal number 00001000 on the last line.

If you want to use a value other than 4096, you’ll have to translate it into a hexadecimal. Fortunately, Windows’ calculator will do that job for you. Just enter the number you want, then click the option button labeled Hex to convert it to hexadecimal. If you don’t see an option button labeled Hex, choose Scientific from the View menu. Now copy the resulting hexadecimal number into Maxcache.reg, replacing 00001000, and double-click Maxcache.reg.

— Neil J. Rubenking
From the 9/1/99 issue of PC Magazine”

Note that Neil says it is a DWORD — but the MSKB says it is a String value. For Win98SE, a string works fine. I suspect this type of confusion is the origin of the 1000 vs. 1024 arguement!!! ;-]

Lastly, here is a recommendation to set the number to 8000! That is the largest I have seen — eh, except for the 8192 that I have on mine!

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You’ve got a corrupt icon cache. It’s not uncommon. What you need to do is to locate the file ShellIconCache and delete it. It’s a hidden file, and it lives in the Windows directory.

To find it, click on the taskbar (the bar with the clock) and press F3. Then search for that filename, making sure that you tell Windows to look for hidden files and folders. That should clear up your problem.

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