Windows 7: Corrupted Icon cache after installing new programs

[The!Winston]

I have installed the Windows7 in my computer. I am using this from last two month. Yesterday, I was installing software in my computer. It gets installed without any problem but after installation when I saw the shortcut icon then I found that it is generic icon. I checked both on desktop and on the start menu. If I delete iconcache.db from task manager then it fixes the problem but after that is I install any other software in it then it happens again.

I never saw this issue with any other version of the Windows. This is the first time I am facing this. Do you know any permanent fix for this issue? If yes then please post it over here so that I can solve this problem. Thank you very much.

[Badrunath]

Do you have installed any antivirus software on your system? If no then install a good one and scan the entire system with that. Make sure that you have updated the virus definition for that. If it is outdated then it will not detect some of the viruses and the problem may persist. Clean all the files that is detected by that and if it is not able to clean it then you can delete that file but check that it should not be the system file. Once you are completed with this then again try to install the software for which you are getting the problem.

[MahaGuru]

Is this the problem with installation of all the software or it is with only with particular software? If it is will all the software then there is some problem with the system and if it is with any particular software then the installation file itself may be corrupted and not getting installed properly. My suggestion to you is to get or download the setup of that software again and try to install that again with new downloaded setup. I hope this will help you. Thank you.

[GeforceUser]

Is this happening to Microsoft Programs or some third party applications? In either case, you can try to reset the icon cache. To do this you just have to follow the steps given below and this will reset it.

1. First of all right click on any area on your desktop and select Persolise.
2. Select the link for display property.
3. Select the Medium (16-bit) under color and apply the changes. If you have already using 16 bit then you have to select 32 bit. Many of the times it requires you to boot the computer. Reboot it and if it prompts for that and then go to step 4.
4. Click on Yes for confirming the new settings.

[DotNetUser]

You can try to reset the cache as suggested above and if that does not work then you can rebuild the icon cache with the steps below.

1. Open folder option and under view, you have to select show hidden files and folders. Click on OK to save that.
2. Now open the Windows Explorer Windows.
3. Open C:\Users\(User Name)\AppData\Local
4. See for the IconCache.db and right click on that.
5. Select delete and it will prompt you for confirmation.
6. Press yes to confirm the action and close that window.
7. Clear your recycle bin.
8. Once you are completed with this then you have to reboot your computer.
9. If you go back there then you will notice that the IconCache.db file size smaller. Sometimes you may need to restart your computer twice to take the changes effect.
10. That is it and the cache is rebuild now.