Desktop Icons

Joe Delaronde · Post by **Joe Delaronde** » 7 Jun 2002 7:07 am

Sometimes my desktop icons loose their color and turn white. The progs still work OK. Anyway to refresh them short of a re-boot?

Thanks
Joe

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 7 Jun 2002 7:56 am

TweakUI, available from Microsoft, has a Rebuild Icons in its Repair tab. That works for me. I think the problem is probably your video driver.

Everett Cox · Post by **Everett Cox** » 7 Jun 2002 12:07 pm

Joe/Jim-- On my systems, Windows sometimes also decides to rearrange the desktop icons on its own. Never could figure what caused that (even when I was running one of my usual app's), so I found a neat little program that stores/restores the desktop.

It's called WinTidy and is free and only about 300kb, zipped. Once your desktop suites you, click on WinTidy, click 'Save', that's it. When you need, click WinTidy, and then 'Restore', that simple.

The program automatically handles multiple setups by screen resolution and allows for more than one setup for a particular resolution if you provide a name. Works great and, if you wish, I can email to you.
--Everett

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 7 Jun 2002 12:58 pm

I don't get it...it turns your icons white? Let's take Word for example. The default icon is the Blue "W". Does it turn that into the default Windows 'unknown' icon. That icon is white with what looks like a redish kind of flame looking thing.

Is that what you mean?

Everett, icons change on the desktop when 'Active Desktop' is on. I am not sure what all the rules are on active desktop, but it tends to happen to me when I have a picture on my desktop. Active Desktop is very confusing to me!

Mark

Joe Delaronde · Post by **Joe Delaronde** » 7 Jun 2002 3:45 pm

Mark
Every icon on my desktop turns white and has the windows icon inside of the white square. That is, ALL except for WinMX & WP.9. Yahoo! has a blue E & Power Tracks hasn't changed.

I'm going to try the program mentioned.
Joe

Everett Cox · Post by **Everett Cox** » 8 Jun 2002 12:22 am

Mark-- I never liked 'active desktop' and have not had it enabled for a couple years. The several Win9x versions I've used all will seem to 'refresh' the screen occasionaly. If Windows Explorer is up, the file pane will 'repaint'. If there's no active window, the desktop icons go into the 'auto arrange' format. Other times, it's a random arrangement. Makes no difference what app's, if any, I'm running. I have a lot of desktop icons that I must organise in order to find anything. Really used to irk me when I had to redo them.

I think I know what Joe is talking about. It seems to happen on my system, too, but only for a moment. I'll be looking at some folder's contents and suddenly the color will disappear from the icons. Just for a moment, then they get repainted normally.

Joe- the program is on the way.
--Everett

Mark Ardito · Post by **Mark Ardito** » 8 Jun 2002 6:12 am

If you right click the start menu and then go to Explore. Once it open you can go to the Tools menu and then to Folder Options. Here you can go to "file types". Then you can change each one at a time. It is a pain in the you know what if you have to do alot of them. If there is a application that will do it, I might try that. Sorry I don't have any better advice, I have never come across this problem before.

Mark

Cairo Zoots · Post by **Cairo Zoots** » 11 Jun 2002 2:52 pm

LESSON 154 - THE ACTIVE DESKTOP - WHAT IS IT?
http://www.JeffLevy.com

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ree-00-dee-doo

Frank · Post by **Frank** » 13 Jun 2002 1:34 am

Hi Guys, This dosen`t address the "white Icon Problem" however,a short while back my system came down with a virus called
"CHERNOBLE"
One of the first indicators was my icons would run and hide from my mouse, or at other times they`d all gang up in one corner of the monitor. you could rt. click
and rearrange,but the minute you tried to click on one they`d all run back to the corner.Within a couple of days several other quirks poped up. I tried running McAffey and it wouldn`t touch it,I tried Norton Antivirus,but had to dump the whole hard drive, reload the operating system, then scrub it and each program that i reinstalled.
I`ve since heard several stories about this critter and it do get scary if allow to run for any length of time. Anyhow, If you start chasing Icons better check It out.
Ya`ll take care Frank