Feature request: delete XP icon cache

[koitsu]

Something I deal with fairly often: the XP icon cache reaching its maximum size or becoming corrupt in some way. The only way to deal with this is to delete the file and log off/log on (or reboot).

 

In XP, this file lives at %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\IconCache.db. The file is hidden (ATTRIB +H), but otherwise is deletable/manageable by user applications. I have no idea where it lives in Vista or 7.

 

I think it'd be useful to have this capability listed under the main CCleaner -> Windows -> Advanced section, labelled "Delete Icon Cache" or "Clear Icon Cache".

 

And before anyone comments on it: yes, I'm using HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\"Max Cached Icons"="4096" already. That just limits the size of the cache, and has a maximum permitted value of 4096.

[Alan_B]

1. Your request is already met if you download Winapp2.ini - see

http://forum.piriform.com/index.php?showtopic=29438

 

2. XP Home + SP3 fails to rebuild a deleted cache for some people - I am a victim.

 

I have two long posts on page 14 in the above topic.

The first complains and points out that MANY people have suffered, even when CCleaner is NOT involved,

and that MANY ways are published for recovering - but they do not work.

The second explains the tools and procedures I had to follow to rebuild the cache.

 

Deleting the cache is a risky procedure and recovery needs some skill and knowledge,

and should NOT be something to offer the naive new time user.

[Andavari]

You can easily rebuild the icon cache using Microsoft TweakUI (freeware).

 

In TweakUI:

1. Click Repair (at the bottom on the left).

2. In Repair select Rebuild Icons, then click Repair Now.

 

To increase the maximum icon cache:

1. Visit Kellys Corner XP Tweaks.

2. Scroll down to the entry on the left: 121. Increase Icon Cache

3. Right click the entry and download the file: iconcache.vbs

Running the file increases the maximum icon cache to a value of 12000. Note that doing this will increase the memory that Explorer.exe uses, however you should very rarely ever have the incorrect icons display. Using this tweak along with Microsoft TweakUI should solve any icon display issues. Note that if Explorer.exe is using more memory than you'd like you can have TweakUI rebuild the icons to flush out any icons you no longer have on your system.

 

I personally use an icon cache value of 8196, and don't have any icon display issues.

[Super Fast]

Yes, tweak UI is good!

 

Alan, why must you make it seem hard? LOL! Just kidding, my man!

[Alan_B]

I did NOT have a maximum size problem

My icon cache had reached 6,425,526 bytes, and was absolutely stagnant.

Nothing got added, nothing got cancelled.

Some desktop icons were NOT cached and on start-up they had Windows Default icons for a long time until explorer visited the shortcut destinations.

Regseeker 1.55 fixed everything.

Six Mbytes was reduced to 1,106,590 bytes, and on startup EVERY shortcut was immediately given its assigned icon from the new rebuilt cache,

but all the positions had changed and when I clicked on the top left corner the icon was not where I wanted it.

I had used RegShot to monitor Regseekser and that produced a 1 Mbyte file listing changes to values in a few MUI cache registry keys.

 

I knew that my icon cache was a file, now rebuilt, and that the only other changes were in the registry,

but I did not know which changes rebuilt the icon cache, and which were the screen coordinates that had suffered damage,

so I restored the Erunt registry backup and that got my icons where they belonged,

but after the reboot the icon cache doubled in size for an unknown reason - but it still did all I wanted of it.

 

That cache remains fixed at 2 MB.

It presumably still holds all icons for applications now removed.

Recent New Applications have Windows Defaults until explorer or whatever it is happens to find and present the icon.

 

When I get tired of the icon delay I may give Kelly and Tweaki a whirl.

 

Computers do things faster than humans, and they find more devious ways of going wrong more quickly.

 

Ideally an Icon Cache should NOT need manual intervention unless something is wrong.

If you need to delete the Icon cache so it can be automatically rebuilt,

you really should be aware that you are depending upon the auto-repair capability of a broken mechanism.

All bets are off and you can come unstuck and the Internet will give many solutions.

All I could do was try each in turn with the fall-back position that I had a partition image backup,

and if all else failed I could restore that image so that I undid the Winapp2.ini damage,

and I would again have half my icons appear on startup and the other half would arrive when Windows got around to it.

 

If the icon cache is bad then some icons fail to appear instantly but the eventually arrive.

 

How do we improve the computing experience of the average naive user with a perfectly adequate cache,

if he cleans to the best that he knows how and we wipe out his cache every day,

and every day he suffers delay whilst the cache is rebuilt ?