Forum Discussion
All Icons Turn into the Same Photo of a Cat, and Restarting Doesn't Help
I’m having a really strange problem with my computer where all the desktop icons suddenly changed into the same photo of a cat, regardless of whether they belong to folders, applications, or shortcuts. I’ve tried restarting the computer several times, hoping everything would return to normal, but the cat picture keeps appearing on every icon, making it difficult to recognize or open things properly; has anyone experienced this bizarre issue before, and does anyone know what might cause it or how I can restore the original icons?
1 Reply
If the cat image appears on every icon, Windows’ icon cache or a desktop-customisation program is the most likely cause. It doesn’t necessarily mean the files themselves were replaced.
First, right-click one affected item and choose Properties. Check that the file type and shortcut target are still correct. If the programs open normally, the problem is probably only the displayed icons.
Try rebuilding the icon cache:
- Open Terminal (Admin).
- Run:
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
del /a /q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"
del /a /f /q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"
start explorer.exe - Restart Windows and check the desktop again.
If the cat returns, check Settings > Apps > Startup and installed desktop customisation or icon-pack software. Disable or uninstall anything you don’t recognise, then run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan. Don’t delete the shortcuts or reinstall all your applications until you’ve confirmed that their targets still work.
