Thumbnails only momentarily appear, then replaced with default

[Richard]

When I open some folders filled with jpgs, some of the icons start to appear,
but as soon as the last icon on the page is displayed, all icons then revert
to the default (that blue-green drawing of a mountain scene). I've selected
view as "large icons", but "medium icons" and "extra large icons" do the same
thing. Sometimes, some files will display, but most won't. If I select one
of the non-displaying jpgs, it appears correctly in the preview pane, but
still not as a thumbnail.
What is especially frustrating is that opening a new directory can take 20
or 30 seconds, presumably so windows can look at all the files, but then it
gives me nothing in return.
I've searched the net and found many others with the same problem, but none
of the solutions seem to fix the problem. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

There is a hidden database file in the picture folders that stores the
thumbnails. 'thumbs.db'. If it is deleted, the next time the folder is
opened, a new one is created. This might work for you.
I admit to being a bit skeptical that it will work, however. Vista seems to
have an 'icon bug' of some kind that keeps appearing in various
manifestations.

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