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Question

folder icons I Customize keep reverting back to default win

Apr 23, 2019 10:46AM PDT

Like it says on the title. The only thing I can add to that, this is happening on internal HDD that is other than my OS drive.
I customized icons but after reboot, they keep reverting back to default. For years this was not an issue and all of a sudden it is...

Discussion is locked

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Answer
It's a thing.
Apr 23, 2019 11:47AM PDT
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It is a thing and seems like it is my thing...
Apr 23, 2019 2:10PM PDT

Well, You have found one of my other posts which haven't yet been answered. And my similar Google searched has not landed me to any viable solution. So I am not sure how that helps but thank you.

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See Kees note about desktop.ini.
Apr 23, 2019 2:13PM PDT

You'll have to do a bit of work but that work can't be avoided.

As to the customizing I found this feature to be broken way back in Windows 2000 and maybe earlier. My reaction was to put it on my list of things I don't expect to work. Some folk feel like there is a fix yet this issue continues to pop up 19 years later.

Seems odd that Microsoft hasn't nailed this in that many years.

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No mystery there!
Apr 23, 2019 2:35PM PDT

Windows has always been Life Ruining Love & Hate relationship... Yet I had never had this issue consistently reverting before in my many many years of Windows experience...

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Answer
Re: folder icon
Apr 23, 2019 12:37PM PDT
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Just a note.
Apr 23, 2019 12:50PM PDT

desktop.ini is still used for Windows 10 so this applies.

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Freaky...
Apr 23, 2019 2:31PM PDT

I just discovered that all of my images, icons and what not, are not displaying the picture itself but a generic 'Windows Photo Viewer' icon is shown in each of them! So that's freaky... I don't know what's going on there.

But once I select an icon file to be displayed, it works as it supposes to.
Unfortunately, there is no desktop.ini file to be found anywhere in the folder... (Yes Hidden files are shown)

The content has not been altered in any way after reboot in any fo the folders...

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BINGO.
Apr 23, 2019 2:35PM PDT

I found a recent Windows Update changed my photo viewer back to Microosoft's photo viewer. This has a lot of other implications.

Try setting it to your choice (again.) As to the desktop.ini, you probably should make one as a test.

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Freaky...
Apr 23, 2019 2:44PM PDT

I believe my choice was already Microsoft's photo viewer. So that has not been altered.

As I remember Windows 10 came with Photo Edit app for displaying pictures and I had to discover a tweak to replace that with Photo Viewer. So I don't know...

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I didn't tell all.
Apr 23, 2019 2:55PM PDT

When W10 shipped there was one photo viewer they used and recently Microsoft introduced a new photo viewer. It's another app by another name and has caused some issues.

I've had discussions where folk found it mattered. Here we are going over some old turf (since 2000) and you need to try making a desktop.ini for the folder in question to see if that sticks.

Post was last edited on April 23, 2019 2:56 PM PDT

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Freaky
Apr 23, 2019 3:25PM PDT

First of thank you.
But the two questions I have are;

1 What is the other new app?
2 How would I go about making a desktop.ini?

When you clicked on a picture file W10 without that tweak was opening the file with Picture Edit.
And The Picture Viewer was hidden somewhere in the system. Thus the tweak.

Do you have a suggestion for another app?

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I'd copy examples from the web.
Apr 23, 2019 3:40PM PDT
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I'm asking your preference
Apr 24, 2019 5:32AM PDT

"I found a recent Windows Update changed my photo viewer back to Microsoft's photo viewer. "

So I am asking what was your photo viewer that wasn't Microsoft's photo viewer.

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As to the Photo viewers.
Apr 23, 2019 3:41PM PDT

That's up to you to change to what you prefer.

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I'm asking your preference
Apr 24, 2019 8:26AM PDT

"I found a recent Windows Update changed my photo viewer back to Microsoft's photo viewer. "

So I am asking what was your photo viewer that wasn't Microsoft's photo viewer.

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I'm using IRFANVIEW.
Apr 24, 2019 9:17AM PDT

And for video VLC Player. Why? Many reasons from these are what I've used for over a decade to my view about open source, etc.

Plus in my opinion they work better and faster than the supplied Microsoft apps.

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No mystery there also!
Apr 24, 2019 1:47PM PDT

Thanks.
And I think everyone else uses VLC since it came around... Happy


UPDATE

So I unchecked "Always show the icons never thumbnails" and that second issue corrected itself. (No picture preview just generic Windows Photo Viewer thumbnail)

Also
Unchecking the "Always show the icons never thumbnails" seems like keeping the folder icons that I assigned just fine... At least for now...

Post was last edited on April 25, 2019 8:11 AM PDT