Windows 11 File Thumbnails Not Showing—Only Icons

When pictures and videos show generic icons instead of thumbnails in Windows 11 File Explorer, it typically indicates an issue with thumbnail generation, cache, or related settings. Since you've already checked the settings and the problem persists.

Try to clear thumbnail cache with these commands:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

del /f /s /q /a %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db

start explorer.exe

Let us know if this helps!

The issue where generic icons are displayed instead of thumbnails for pictures and videos in Windows 11 File Explorer is often caused by a problem with the Windows Imaging Component (WIC) or the thumbnail preview handlers.

There's a specific registry key that can completely disable thumbnails. It's often the culprit when the Folder Options setting appears correct but does nothing.