Why does Windows 11 not have the Picture and Music icons on my system?

I had the same problem after updating to Windows 11, and I figured out that it might be due to corrupted icon cache files. You can try rebuilding the icon cache to fix this issue. Here’s how to do it:

1. Run Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Type each of these commands and press Enter after each:
3. taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F
4. cd /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local
5. attrib -h IconCache.db
6. del IconCache.db
7. shutdown /r /f /t 00

After your system reboots, the icon cache should be rebuilt, and the missing icons might reappear.

I resolved this problem by running a system file scan, which checked for and repaired any corrupt files that might have caused the icons to go missing. Here’s what you need to do:
1. Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
2. Type sfc /scannow and press Enter.

This command scans your system for corrupted files and attempts to repair them. Running this utility restored my missing icons without any additional steps.

I fixed my missing icons by exploring the registry settings, and it involves a bit of technical tweaking. Here’s how to do it:
1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders.
3. Verify that the entries for ‘My Pictures’ and ‘My Music’ point to the correct directories (%USERPROFILE%\Pictures and %USERPROFILE%\Music).
4. If adjustments are needed, right-click and modify the necessary entries.
5. Restart your PC to reflect the changes.

Correcting these registry paths brought back my icons.

Another possibility is that the folder permissions have been altered during the upgrade. Here’s how you can check and change permissions:
1. Locate the Pictures or Music folder.
2. Right-click and go to ‘Properties’.
3. Open the ‘Security’ tab.
4. Click ‘Edit’ and ensure that your user account has full control.
5. If not, click ‘Add’, enter your username, and grant full control.
6. Apply the changes and restart your PC.

Updating the permissions enabled the icons to appear correctly for me.

I encountered the same issue and found that it was related to File Explorer settings. Sometimes, switching a few settings can help. Here’s what you can do:
1. Open File Explorer.
2. Click ‘View’ on the menu.
3. Navigate to ‘Options’ and open ‘Folder Options’.
4. Under the ‘View’ tab, uncheck the option ‘Always show icons, never thumbnails’.
5. Click ‘Apply’ and then ‘OK’.

This adjusts the settings to display icons appropriately, which could bring back your Picture and Music folder icons.

When I faced this issue, I discovered that the upgrade had reset the default path for these folders. Here’s what I did to fix it:
1. Open File Explorer and go to This PC.
2. Right-click the Pictures or Music folder.
3. Select ‘Properties’.
4. In the ‘Location’ tab, click ‘Restore Default’ and apply the changes.

This resets your folders to their default locations and should restore the icons.

In my case, the problem with the missing Picture and Music icons on Windows 11 turned out to be due to folder settings not being carried over properly during the upgrade. Here’s how you can manually restore them:
1. Go to your user folder (usually C:\Users\[Your UserName]).
2. Right-click on the Pictures or Music folder and select ‘Properties’.
3. Navigate to the ‘Customize’ tab.
4. Click on ‘Change Icon’ under the ‘Folder icons’ section.
5. Choose the correct icon from the list or browse your system for them.
6. Click ‘Apply’ and ‘OK’.

This method helped me get the correct icons back.