How to Change the Icon Cache Size in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8
Information
When an icon is loaded for the first time it is cached in the iconcache.db file. The cached icons load faster than icons loaded directly from the source resource files. If the limit of the cache file is reached and overridden, you could experience incorrect or corrupted icons. Increasing the icon cache size helps to prevent icons from reloading from the source or being corrupted.
This tutorial will show you how to change the maximum size of the icon cache (iconcache.db) file to be more or less than it's default 500KB size for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.
Note
The icon cache is located at the
hidden system folder location below for each user:
C:\Users\User-Name\AppData\Local\IconCache.db
OPTION ONE
To Automatically Reset or Change Icon Cache Size using VBS File
1. Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below.
2. Save the
.vbs file to your
Desktop.
3. Double click/tap on the downloaded
.vbs file to run it.
4. Click/tap on
Open and
Yes (UAC) when prompted.
NOTE: If you like, you can stop getting the Open prompt by unblocking the downloaded .vbs file.
5. Follow the instructions in the prompts by the VBS file for what you would like to do. (see screenshots below)
A) To Set a Custom Icon Cache Size
B) To Reset Icon Cache Size Back to Default
NOTE: This restores the default 500KB icon cache size.
6. Be sure to
restart the computer to apply.
7. When finished, you can now delete the downloaded
.vbs file if you like.
OPTION TWO
To Manually Reset or Change Icon Cache Size using Registry Editor
1. Press the
Windows+R keys to open the Run dialog, type
regedit, and click/tap on
OK.
2. If prompted by UAC, then click/tap on
Yes (Windows 7/8) or
Continue (Vista).
3. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
4. Do
step 5 or 6 below for what you would like to do.
5. To Set a Custom Icon Cache Size
A) If you have not already, in the right pane of Explorer, right click or press and hold on an empty area, click/tap on
New and
String Value, type
Max Cached Icons, and press Enter. (see screenshot below step 3)
B) Double click/tap on
Max Cached Icons to modify it. (see screenshot below step 3)
C) Type in a number for how many kilobytes (KB) you want the maximum icon cache size to be, and click/tap on
OK. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: (
1024KB = 1 MB) Setting this to 8192 KB (8 MB) gives good results. Your millage may vary, but you can always adjust the size to your needs at anytime.
D) Go to
step 7 below.
6. To Reset Icon Cache Size Back to Default
NOTE: This restores the default 500KB icon cache size.
A) In the right pane of
Explorer, right click on
Max Cached Icons and click/tap on
Delete. (see screenshot below step 3)
B) Click/tap on
Yes. (see screenshot below)
C) Go to
step 7 below.
7. Close regedit, and
restart the computer to apply.
That's it,
Shawn