Some icons gone

[Guest]

I run WinXP Home and upgraded from FAT32 to NTFS a couple of months ago.
After that, every few days some of my icons changed to the blank box icon.
Not all icons were affected. My Documents, My Computer, Recycle bin were not
affected. But many of my program icons were: most of Microsoft Office
including the .doc and .xls files, but other programs (eg ZoneAlarm) were
not. I have tried to do a system restore, but system restore isn't working
(it is reporting an error and I think a previous restore point has become
corrupt and I now have to remove all restore points). I appears that for
those applications affected, all icons have become the blank boxes: that is
the icons on the desktop, in the start/program menu and the documents
themselves. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Elmo]

I run WinXP Home and upgraded from FAT32 to NTFS a couple of months ago.
After that, every few days some of my icons changed to the blank box icon.
Not all icons were affected. My Documents, My Computer, Recycle bin were not
affected. But many of my program icons were: most of Microsoft Office
including the .doc and .xls files, but other programs (eg ZoneAlarm) were
not. I have tried to do a system restore, but system restore isn't working
(it is reporting an error and I think a previous restore point has become
corrupt and I now have to remove all restore points). It appears that for
those applications affected, all icons have become the blank boxes: that is,
the icons on the desktop, in the start/program menu and the documents
themselves. Anyone got any ideas?

Line 121. Increase Icon Cache
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

 

[Guest]

Joe/Elmo - I downloaded and ran the script, logged out and back in, but it
hasn't fixed the problem. I've also tried rebooting. At the same time this
problem first started, I also started receiving windows update reports that
updates for .net framework (KB928365 & KB928366) failed to instal. Yesterdays
monthly updates all installed ok, but not the two .net updates. And all this
happened a week or so after I changed from FAT32 to NTFS. Back to the icons.
All the Microsoft Office icons (prgrams and documents) have changed to the
blank icons, apart from Microsoft Photodraw documents (*.mix *.pcx) but the
program icon has become blank too. Acrobat reader program icon and *.pdf have
also gone blank. My digital camera software icons have gone blank, but the
photos themselves (*.jpg) still have the icon that the camera software gave
them. But all other programs still have the correct icons, so the problem is
confined to Microsoft Office, acrobat reader and my digital camera software.
I'd really appreciate any more suggestions you can give me. Thanks, Kevin

 

[Elmo]

Joe/Elmo - I downloaded and ran the script, logged out and back in, but it
hasn't fixed the problem. I've also tried rebooting. At the same time this
problem first started, I also started receiving windows update reports that
updates for .net framework (KB928365 & KB928366) failed to install. Yesterday's
monthly updates all installed ok, but not the two .net updates. And all this
happened a week or so after I changed from FAT32 to NTFS. Back to the icons.
All the Microsoft Office icons (programs and documents) have changed to the
blank icons, apart from Microsoft Photodraw documents (*.mix *.pcx) but the
program icon has become blank too. Acrobat reader program icon and *.pdf have
also gone blank. My digital camera software icons have gone blank, but the
photos themselves (*.jpg) still have the icon that the camera software gave
them. But all other programs still have the correct icons, so the problem is
confined to Microsoft Office, acrobat reader and my digital camera software.
I'd really appreciate any more suggestions you can give me. Thanks, Kevin

This Google Groups thread suggests you:

- disable your av software:

"Start a free Windows Update support incident request:
https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=6527

Tip: Temporarily disable real-time protection by your anti-virus and/or
anti-spyware applications (e.g., CounterSpy, Spysweeper, Spybot, AVG
Anti-Spyware) and/or any third-party firewall (e.g., ZA)."

- Remove, then reinstall .Net framework:

"Uninstall the piece of crap .NET, reboot, reinstall the piece of crap
..NET, install any updates to the piece of crap .NET via Microsoft
Update, then reboot and hope it's resolved."

- a Cleanup tool:

Microsoft puts out a CleanUp Tool that I installed. However, when I
tried to run it, it came up with a list of 33 application installed on
my computer that it says may not work properly after the cleanup tool
runs. Of course, after reading this, I did not run the clean up tool.

- and a solution, of sorts:

"Fortunately, I was able to install all of the .NetFrame stuff from my
downloads. Then I went thru the updates to get 2-updates that I did not
have. Anyway, all is working great now.

I saved all of the .NetFrame (Crap) installations because I know I will
have to do the exact same thing again... each time another stupid update
come out. I'm sick of these updates, but at least my problems are
solved for a month or so (until the next update)."


See what else is suggested here:

http://groups.google.com/groups/search?q=KB928365+failed+to+install&qt_s=Search+Groups

For the original problem:

"One way might be via TweakUI (for XP). If this is not
installed on your system, then download it from
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp "

Look at the many helpful suggestions here on Kelly's site:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_i.htm

hth,

 

[Guest]

Joe, thanks for your detailed reply. I followed the .net instructions and
have successfully solved that problem. But I'm still experiencing the icons
problem. I have tried TweakUI, but that didn't fix it. I then tried repairing
Adobe Reader from Control Panel then Add/Remove Programs. Thsi reinstated the
icons for *.pdf correctly. It also reinstated an icon for the program: but
not the correct one! So I tried to repair office but received a message "This
package could not be opened. Verify that the patch exists and that you can
access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that it is a valid
Windows Installer patch package." I think I'll have to completely reinstal
Office. Oddly enough the Outlook icon on the desktop is ok. But all the other
Office icons are affected. Thanks for all your help, Kevin

 

[Guest]

Joe, I've fixed the proble. To fix the .net problem I had to download the
Microsft uninstaller. I used this to uninstall Office too, then reinstalled
it from the CDs. Now all icons are back. Thanks for your help. Kevin

 

[Elmo]

Joe, I've fixed the proble. To fix the .net problem I had to download the
Microsft uninstaller. I used this to uninstall Office too, then reinstalled
it from the CDs. Now all icons are back. Thanks for your help. Kevin

Great news!