Forum Discussion
Win10 Folders with custom icons revert to default after system restart
When you set a custom icon for a folder by editing the desktop.ini file or using the folder properties, the icon reverts to the default folder icon after the system restarts.
The custom icon will only reappear after you manually click the folder, but it will revert to the default again the next time the system restarts.
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The icon reappears when you open the folder but is lost after restart, suggesting an incomplete Desktop.ini customization or an unavailable icon path rather than the folder contents. Put the ICO file in a permanent local location; if the folder may move or be shared, place the icon inside it and use a relative IconFile path. Confirm Desktop.ini is Unicode and contains a [.ShellClassInfo] section with IconFile and IconIndex=0. From an elevated Command Prompt, run attrib +s “C:\path\Folder” and attrib +h +s “C:\path\Folder\desktop.ini”. The system attribute on the folder tells File Explorer to process Desktop.ini. Sign out, sign in, then test two restarts. If Properties > Customize writes a different IconResource entry, keep that generated form instead of mixing both formats. If only icons on a removable, network, or cloud path revert, move the ICO locally.
