.png thumbnail previews have stopped working.

Patrick Graham 25 Reputation points
2025-08-06T13:13:34.7433333+00:00

.png thumbnail previews have stopped working. I've tried all the suggestions online like unchecking boxes etc etc and I've even tried rebuilding the icon cache. Some program icons have also stopped being visible in the icon tray when they are running (Whatapps desktop app and Notepad)

Any help is appreciated. I use image files everyday and not being able to see .png thumbnail previews has frustratingly extended my workflow.

Many thanks. Patrick.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Display and graphics
0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Ramesh 180.9K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2025-08-18T14:20:09.24+00:00

The culprit might be Google Drive sync client.

Please download and png_fix.reg (from my OneDrive). Run the file and click Yes to confirm.

Log off/login back or restart Windows for the native thumbnail handler to reload.

If required, refresh the Thumbnail cache using Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr.exe)

Other methods to clear the thumbnail cache:

Clear Icon Cache

How to Clear the Thumbnail Cache in Windows

Was this answer helpful?

2 people found this answer helpful.

7 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Randy Baroja 20,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-08-08T13:12:01.4333333+00:00

    Hi,

    Thanks, Patrick. To create the folders in the Registry, right-click on pngfile, choose New > Key, name it shellex, then right-click shellex, create another key named {e357fccd-a995-4576-b01f-234630154e96}, click that key, double-click (Default) on the right, and set its value to {E3F2BAC0-DA47-11CE-990E-00AA006CABC9}. Close Registry Editor and restart your PC. Since "Choose another app" only works per file and some icons are missing, this registry fix should help restore system thumbnail handling. Let me know after the restart.

    Best regards,

    Was this answer helpful?

  2. Randy Baroja 20,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-08-08T02:12:05.3566667+00:00

    Hi,

    Thanks, Patrick. Try this first: right-click a .png file, choose Open with > Choose another app, select Photos, and tick "Always use this app" even if it’s already set. If that doesn’t help, open the Registry (press Win + R, type regedit), go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\pngfile\shellex{e357fccd-a995-4576-b01f-234630154e96} — if it’s missing, create the folders and set the default value to {E3F2BAC0-DA47-11CE-990E-00AA006CABC9}. Then restart your PC. Also, are your PNGs on OneDrive or local storage? And did you install any theme or cleaning apps lately?

    Best regards,

    Was this answer helpful?

  3. Randy Baroja 20,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-08-06T16:05:01.4933333+00:00

    Hi,

    Thanks for checking that, Patrick. Try this. You’ll need to run each command one at a time, and with the correct spacing like this.

    1. taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
    2. del /f /s /q /a %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db

    3 start explorer.exe

    That should properly close File Explorer, delete the thumbnail cache, and restart File Explorer.

    Regards,

    Was this answer helpful?

  4. Randy Baroja 20,770 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-08-06T13:56:20.35+00:00

    Hey there!

    Nice to meet you! I'm Randy, an Independent Advisor.

    Hi Patrick, try this: go to View > Options > View in File Explorer and uncheck "Always show icons, never thumbnails."Then open Command Prompt as Admin and run these: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe, del /f /s /q /a %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db, then start explorer.exe to rebuild the cache. Also, check if .png is set to open with Photos in Settings > Apps > Default apps. For missing tray icons, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Other system tray icons and turn them on. If it’s still broken, run sfc /scannow and DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth in Command Prompt. Do thumbnails work for .jpg or other image types?

    Hope that this helps,

    Best regards,

    Was this answer helpful?

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.