Help? Icons changing by themselves???

[r1013]

Yesterday I noticed that on my desk top I had 3 icons that looked like my application icon in Ulead Photo Express...I of course was puzzled.. when I clicked on them they were Zip files.. This was the same throughout my computer for all zip files..I then looked and my Ulead Photo Express icon was still their and working...Hum?.. I tried to figure out how to change it back but I couldn't..So I simply uninstalled Winzip and reinstalled it.. Then all the Winzip icons went back to normal..

Today everything was just fine.. and after being on the computer approximately 3 hoursI noticed that all my zips now took on the appearance of Text files...AND... all my Text files look like Application Extension files and all my PDF files look like Batch Files.

Everything seems to function just fine.. but this is very confusing and aggravating...Does anyone know how to change the file back to their normal icon views?... or What's causing this and how to stop/prevent it from happening?.... Not that its not some type of virus but I scan my computer daily.. and it automatically checks for virus updates daily.. Hum?.. Any suggestions?...

 

[ladin]

I have seen this before but I have no clue why it happens. I used to have a Compaq Presario 5050(i know it sux) and as soon as I were to install any desktop themes etc. this would start happening. The only way I got it to stop was to go w/o a desktop theme and it wasnt enough of a nuisance to call tech support about since everything worked fine just the icons were screwy.

 

[Karl Blessing]

hmm I've seen this, mostly it affect my drive icons, like in windows explorer sometimes, my C: would change to a notepad icon, oh btw if you have a Zip drive this may be the key to the problem.

 

[rgordley]

This is a problem with win98 and microsoft knows about it. How can you tell? Because they include a tool with tweakUI specifically to fix it. Install TweakUI from your windows98 CD. It will install itself in the control panel. The first option on the "repair" tab is "rebuild icons".

 

[Payner]

fwiw...in the past when I've tried to use tweakui it messed with other things, bigtime, and screen icons got squirrelly anyway.
One fix w/o tweakui is to delete shelliconcache and reboot...should fix them.
John Payne

 

[Jimg]

Payne,

I posted a very similar question on 8/24. There have been no responses, so I was pleased to see some suggestions to R1013's problem.

Your solution to delete shelliconcache worked for me. It was simple and fast and worked!!!

Thanks,

Jim G

 

[Chemakill]

Sometimes my recycling bin icon just changes to a random icon. It's weird since I've got no wallpaper, no themes, nothin'. I keep my registry clean with norton, too.

 

[Payner]

Paging causes files to be splattered all over the place, especially if Windows thinks you won't need the file. (shelliconcache runs at boot and rests)
It gets paged out and fragmented and gets whatsitsheimer's.
Even alternate defrag utilities don't fix it.
Thankfully there is a cure for this.
John Payne

 

[christheprogrammer]

Chemakill - NOTHING will keep your registry clean. I know because I change it manually all the time. Norton and all those 'FIXIT' programs are bogus.
Everytime you install a new program, the registry is changed all over the place. Microsoft screwed up big time when they thought up this "Registry".
Anyways, if your icons keep changing, you can check the registry for file associations, run regedit at command prompt and look in \HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Look for the file suffix, then find the name associated with it. Scroll down and find that name. There will be a DefaultIcon Key. Check the value, it will have some pathname\filename and then a comma and a number. Try different numbers/filenames and watch your icons change!! You can change all your icons this way. I think the problem with the icons will be located in the registry, but good luck finding it. If you know the file association, these comments may help you, if not oh well...
Cheers
Chris

 

[Guest_imported]

well, it's jan 3, 2001.

I've just purchased Windows ME, AND THE ICON NIGHTMARE is
happening to me too.

I had Windows 95 and Windows 98 before, and never had a problem

Can anyone advise. Can't find discussion since August showing.

Thanks!
katron

 

[Payner]

Do you run TweakUI?
Deleting the shelliconcache and rebooting, then running Scan Disk and Defrag usually covers it...read my post from 29 Aug. above and you'll see what it's doing. Just the way
it works...and like everything else: you gotta' do maintenance on it!
John Payne

 

[crossface]

Here is what happens to my desktop icon shortcuts. The arrow on the shortcut randomly changes to something different. If I reboot the problem goes away and the icons reurn to normal. However during the session the desktop will refresh and arrows on the shortcut icons take on a different appearnce.

Any thoughts.

Kevin Cotter
Byrpn Schools

 

[johnman001]

There is a newer TweakUI than what came with the Win98 CD available from microsoft. The newer TweakUI (1.33) will temporarily fix the icons (Desktop and Drive Icons). Under the Repair Tab, click on Rebuild Icons and Repair Now. I believe that it simply purges all the icons in memory and reloads them.

I have found that my icons usually get screwed up at some point after opening and closing several programs or just after Windows Explorer (not Internet Explorer) crashes and has to reload. It is annoying to look at.

I wonder if this may be attributed to P4 processors. I dont remember this occuring as often with P3 processors or earlier.... just my $0.02