Windows 7 Strange taskbar 'buttons' icon issue... [changing icons]

[Lexxon]

Hi all,

I'm curious if anyone else has run into something like this. I've had Windows 7 Beta and RC and now RTM on my home desktop and have had no issues whatsoever, however they were all clean installs.

Now, I've gone ahead and upgraded from Vista Business to 7 Pro on my laptop. I haven't done an upgrade in a while so I didn't input a key just yet in case things went..bad.

And as a whole, things work just fine. The C: drive is a little messy, etc...but that's an upgrade for ya.

However--what Windows 7 calls the "taskbar buttons" in the properties are having some odd issues. Only when it's on "always combine" (which I prefer so far), the icons for certain programs will just...CHANGE. For example, I have on my taskbar: Windows Explorer, which is fine, then Firefox, which is showing the Windows Explorer icon! Then Pidgin which is fine, then Chrome with some sort of Windows upgrade-y icon...then Outlook with some sort of computer monitor / arrow thing. I'll take a photo to help explain.

This generally occurs when I close the cover of the laptop and reopen it. This will also fix the problem if I try it enough times--the icons will go back to normal.

Everything works 100% even when it's screwy--it's just quite the annoyance. Anyone have any issues similar to this, and is there a fix other than a clean install? Thanks!

EDIT: Also, the icons are normal as soon as I open the cover...then they 'transform' into the bad ones after a second or two. Almost always the same ones too!

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you are facing an issue with the taskbar buttons in Windows 7 Pro where the icons for certain programs are changing or displaying incorrectly, especially when set to "always combine" in the taskbar properties. This issue is likely related to a glitch in how Windows is handling the icons when you close and reopen the laptop's cover. Here are a few steps you can try to address this problem without resorting to a clean install: 1. Icon Cache Reset: Resetting the icon cache can often resolve icon display issues. Here's how you can do it: - Close all open programs and windows. - Press Win + R to open the "Run" dialog. - Type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run Command Prompt with administrative privileges. - In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands one by one and press Enter after each:

 taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F CD /d %userprofile%\AppData\Local DEL IconCache.db /a shutdown /r /f /t 00

- After restarting your laptop, Windows will rebuild the icon cache. 2. Check for Updates: Ensure your Windows 7 Pro installation is up to date by checking for and installing any available updates. Sometimes, Microsoft releases patches that address such issues. 3. Change Icon settings: You can try changing the taskbar button settings to see if it helps. Instead of "always combine," you can try "combine when taskbar is full" or "never combine." This might alleviate the issue temporarily. 4. System File Checker (SFC) Scan: Running an SFC scan can help repair missing or corrupted system files that could be causing the icon display problem. Here's how to run the SFC scan: - Open Command Prompt as an administrator. - Type sfc /scannow and hit Enter. Let the scan complete, and then restart your laptop. 5. Third-Party Icon Cache Cleaning Tools: In some cases, using third-party tools that clean and repair icon caches can also help resolve icon display issues. If none of these steps resolve the problem, you might need to consider a clean install as a last resort. Before doing a clean install, ensure you have backups of your important data to avoid any loss during the process. If you encounter any difficulties or need further assistance, feel free to reach out for more help!