Why do desktop icons load at log-on, then refresh one at a time?

Oubadah

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When I start up Windows 7, the icons on the desktop are all visible to start with, but then the desktop seems to refresh, and the icons all go blank, then re-appear in a painfully slow manner (one or two at a time). This is a very recent clean install of Windows.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x64Intel i7 2600K HT=Off, Turbo=OffG.Skill RipjawsX 4x4GB 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 2T 1.5vEVGA GTX 580 3GB
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel i7 2600K HT=Off, Turbo=Off
Motherboard
Gigabyte P67A-UD7-B3 BIOS: F7c
Memory
G.Skill RipjawsX 4x4GB 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 2T 1.5v
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 580 3GB
Sound Card
Creative X-Fi Titanium HD
Monitor(s) Displays
LG W2363D-PF
Screen Resolution
1290x1080 120Hz
Hard Drives
Hard Drives: Four Samsung F3 1TB (HD103SJ) #1: Operating System/Apps (Short Stroke 100GB) #2+3: Programs (Intel RAID0 64k Short Stroke 500GB) #4: General Storage.
PSU
Seasonic X-850 850W
Case
Silverstone FT02 Original USB2.0/Non-AP Fan version
Cooling
Cooler Master Hyper212+ NT-H1 TIM, AC F12 Pro fan on auto
Internet Speed
Piss poor
Yeah, I kinda always wanted to know that as well. Very annoying.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 64bit
OS
Windows 7 64bit
Are you using any security software?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz8 GBNVIDIA GT540M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 15 L502X
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
8 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GT540M
Hard Drives
750GB @ 7200 RPM

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x64Intel i7 2600K HT=Off, Turbo=OffG.Skill RipjawsX 4x4GB 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 2T 1.5vEVGA GTX 580 3GB
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel i7 2600K HT=Off, Turbo=Off
Motherboard
Gigabyte P67A-UD7-B3 BIOS: F7c
Memory
G.Skill RipjawsX 4x4GB 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 2T 1.5v
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 580 3GB
Sound Card
Creative X-Fi Titanium HD
Monitor(s) Displays
LG W2363D-PF
Screen Resolution
1290x1080 120Hz
Hard Drives
Hard Drives: Four Samsung F3 1TB (HD103SJ) #1: Operating System/Apps (Short Stroke 100GB) #2+3: Programs (Intel RAID0 64k Short Stroke 500GB) #4: General Storage.
PSU
Seasonic X-850 850W
Case
Silverstone FT02 Original USB2.0/Non-AP Fan version
Cooling
Cooler Master Hyper212+ NT-H1 TIM, AC F12 Pro fan on auto
Internet Speed
Piss poor
Press Windows+R
Type Regedit. Hit Enter.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Create a new DWORD called Max Cached Icons and set its value to 8192.
Restart your machine. Let us know if it works.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz8 GBNVIDIA GT540M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 15 L502X
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
8 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GT540M
Hard Drives
750GB @ 7200 RPM
Press Windows+R
Type Regedit. Hit Enter.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Create a new DWORD called Max Cached Icons and set its value to 8192.
Restart your machine. Let us know if it works.

Now the icons don't even show up correctly in the first place. They all start out blank, but they transform just as slowly as before.

There was supposed to be spaces in "Max Cached Icons"?

On my other Windows 7 system the icons all show correctly simultaneously with no delay, there are 5x as many icons on the desktop, and the HDD is an absolute mess on that PC (80% full and never defragged).
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x64Intel i7 2600K HT=Off, Turbo=OffG.Skill RipjawsX 4x4GB 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 2T 1.5vEVGA GTX 580 3GB
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel i7 2600K HT=Off, Turbo=Off
Motherboard
Gigabyte P67A-UD7-B3 BIOS: F7c
Memory
G.Skill RipjawsX 4x4GB 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 2T 1.5v
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 580 3GB
Sound Card
Creative X-Fi Titanium HD
Monitor(s) Displays
LG W2363D-PF
Screen Resolution
1290x1080 120Hz
Hard Drives
Hard Drives: Four Samsung F3 1TB (HD103SJ) #1: Operating System/Apps (Short Stroke 100GB) #2+3: Programs (Intel RAID0 64k Short Stroke 500GB) #4: General Storage.
PSU
Seasonic X-850 850W
Case
Silverstone FT02 Original USB2.0/Non-AP Fan version
Cooling
Cooler Master Hyper212+ NT-H1 TIM, AC F12 Pro fan on auto
Internet Speed
Piss poor
Press Windows+R
Type Regedit. Hit Enter.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Create a new DWORD called Max Cached Icons and set its value to 8192.
Restart your machine. Let us know if it works.

Now the icons don't even show up correctly in the first place. They all start out blank, but they transform just as slowly as before.

There was supposed to be spaces in "Max Cached Icons"?

On my other Windows 7 system the icons all show correctly simultaneously with no delay, there are 5x as many icons on the desktop, and the HDD is an absolute mess on that PC (80% full and never defragged).

OK I think 8192 was an overkill. Let's reset the value to default: 500.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 64BitIntel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz8 GBNVIDIA GT540M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 15 L502X
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
8 GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GT540M
Hard Drives
750GB @ 7200 RPM
I'm having the issue as the OP, did anyone resolve this already?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x6i5 2670QM2x4GB RAM Kingston HyperX Memory DDR3 1600 MH...Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sager NP8130
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x6
CPU
i5 2670QM
Memory
2x4GB RAM Kingston HyperX Memory DDR3 1600 MHz Sticks
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio (Built-in)
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
128GB Crucial M4 SSD
500GB Seagate 7200RPM HDD
Internet Speed
12Mbps down/4Mbps up
BUMP! Any solutions?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x6i5 2670QM2x4GB RAM Kingston HyperX Memory DDR3 1600 MH...Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sager NP8130
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x6
CPU
i5 2670QM
Memory
2x4GB RAM Kingston HyperX Memory DDR3 1600 MHz Sticks
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio (Built-in)
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
128GB Crucial M4 SSD
500GB Seagate 7200RPM HDD
Internet Speed
12Mbps down/4Mbps up
Anyone with the solution here?!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x6i5 2670QM2x4GB RAM Kingston HyperX Memory DDR3 1600 MH...Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Sager NP8130
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x6
CPU
i5 2670QM
Memory
2x4GB RAM Kingston HyperX Memory DDR3 1600 MHz Sticks
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio (Built-in)
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
128GB Crucial M4 SSD
500GB Seagate 7200RPM HDD
Internet Speed
12Mbps down/4Mbps up
Stumbled into this posting, leaving me with the question: spaces or not?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7
OS
Windows 7
I am having the same problem. Computer working normally. Seems to occur after using Windows Live Mail and trying to move between browser and emails without closing either. When I close Windows Live Mail, the icons come back very slowly one at a time.

Did anyone ever solve this ?
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for W...
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mesh
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for Windows Vista
Browser
Internet Explorer
I had an email re posted reply but cannot find it on here. It suggested using msconfig which I tried but it did not help
Thanks gogreen for trying.
 

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for W...
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mesh
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for Windows Vista
Browser
Internet Explorer
i use stardock fences so i dont really see the desktop icons until i want to
i think that fences has a cache that loads the icons quicker not 100% sure but its worth giving it a whirl.
that said i dont think fences is free any longer , but you could use the trial to see if you prefer it .
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600IIx4 amd athelon 635 processor2x2gbati radeon HD 5450
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Hewlett packard/p6512uk
OS
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 7600
CPU
IIx4 amd athelon 635 processor
Motherboard
FOXCONN 2AA9
Memory
2x2gb
Graphics Card(s)
ati radeon HD 5450
Sound Card
(1) Realtek High Definition Audio (2) AMD High Definition
Monitor(s) Displays
samsung lcd tv 32"
Screen Resolution
1360x 768
Hard Drives
(1) WDC WD10 01FAES-60Z2A0 SATA Disk Device (2) Maxtor OneTouch USB Device (3) ST310003 33AS USB Device (4) WD My Book 1111 USB Device
PSU
?
Cooling
air!
Keyboard
wireless hp
Mouse
wireless Hp,optical
Internet Speed
1.10mb/s
Antivirus
MSE
Browser
Firefox
Thanks for suggestion but I am worried this is a symptom of something else being wrong especially as it only seems to occur following use of Windows Live Mail - and not always then. At the moment everything is ok so unless someone knows what is causing this, I will probably leave the thread in a couple of days.

Have recently read a suggestion that you should not close the computer too quickly after closing Windows Live Mail as it doesn`t give the programme time to go through its proper routine. So am trying counting up to 20 before I do !
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for W...
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mesh
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for Windows Vista
Browser
Internet Explorer
Mine does it on a solid state drive, I think it`s totally normal and nothing to worry about :)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 10 Pro x64Intel Core i7 6700KGSkill TridentZ RGB 16GB 3600 16-16-16-36EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC x2
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Skylake Special #666
OS
Windows 10 Pro x64
CPU
Intel Core i7 6700K
Motherboard
Asus Sabertooth Z170 Mark 1
Memory
GSkill TridentZ RGB 16GB 3600 16-16-16-36
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 980 Ti SC x2
Sound Card
Realtek High Definition
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC G2460PG
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080 144Hz
Hard Drives
Samsung 860 Pro 256GB, Seagate Barracuda 4TB x2
PSU
EVGA 1000 P2, EVGA White Custom Braided Cables
Case
Corsair Vengeance C70 Gunmetal Black
Cooling
Corsair H100i v2, Corsair ML120 x2, Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut
Keyboard
Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum
Mouse
Logitech G700s
Internet Speed
Verizon Fios Quantum Gateway 75/75
Antivirus
Windows Defender, Malwarebytes Free 3.8.3
Browser
Chrome
Other Info
Corsair SP120 x4, LG Blu-ray Drive, Durabrand HT-395 100 Watt Dolby Digital Amp, Corsair H2100 Wireless 7.1 Headset
Thanks for re-assurance ! Happy Hallowe`en if it`s not a contradiction in terms !
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for W...
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Mesh
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade designed for Windows Vista
Browser
Internet Explorer
Press Windows+R
Type Regedit. Hit Enter.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
Create a new DWORD called Max Cached Icons and set its value to 8192.
Restart your machine. Let us know if it works.

Thanks Azo your solution works for me!:D
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x86Intel Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz4 GbEVGA GeForce 8800 GTX
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
My Own build.
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86
CPU
Intel Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P35-DS4 Rev.2.0
Memory
4 Gb
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX
Hard Drives
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Y9A0
WDC WC20EARX-00PASB0
Antivirus
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
Browser
Firefox, Chrome,IE10
Worth a try!

Using Windows 8.1 but should be the same situation. I struggled with all of the "suggestions" without success then it occurred to me "Disk Issues"! :mad:

I then ran CHKDSK or disk error check & success. The disk errors was the cause so worth a try! :D
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 8.1 64 bit
Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
Windows 8.1 64 bit
Thanks Krusty I will try your suggestion.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate x86Intel Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz4 GbEVGA GeForce 8800 GTX
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
My Own build.
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x86
CPU
Intel Q6600 @ 2.40 GHz
Motherboard
Gigabyte P35-DS4 Rev.2.0
Memory
4 Gb
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTX
Hard Drives
WDC WD1002FAEX-00Y9A0
WDC WC20EARX-00PASB0
Antivirus
Kaspersky Internet Security 2013
Browser
Firefox, Chrome,IE10
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