On 5/10/2023 2:38 PM, pinnerite wrote:
> This started to happen a few weeks ago.
>
> I tried all the suggestions posted on the vwww without success.
>
> The most promising one was to delete the iconcache_*.db files.
>
> Most of them went but three refused to go.
>
> I have administrator rights! But still no go.
>
> A couple of times I booted into admin mode.
> (Held down the shift key while booting). The icons showed up!
>
> Boot into full mode.
>
> The icons flash in colour before being overlaid by black rectangles.
>
> Anyone had experience of this?
I've had a similar problem on two Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit, PRO) machines.
The problem started several months ago. Squares around desktop icons
turn black as the mouse moves over them. Icons and start menu items are
not responsive to mouse clicks.

The simplest path to a working machine is too type ctr-shift-esc and log
off using the capability offered in the "Users" tab. The problem is
cleared when I log back in.

I looked for the icon cache reported in the original post above (posted
in alt.comp.os.windows-10) but could find no files in Windows 7 using
the explorer search function on the Windows folder on my C disk.

Any help would be most appreciated.
--
Jeff Barnett

On 5/11/23 13:13, this is what Jeff Barnett wrote:
> On 5/10/2023 2:38 PM, pinnerite wrote:
>> This started to happen a few weeks ago.
>>
>> I tried all the suggestions posted on the vwww without success.
>>
>> The most promising one was to delete the iconcache_*.db files.
>>
>> Most of them went but three refused to go.
>>
>> I have administrator rights!  But still no go.
>>
>> A couple of times I booted into admin mode.
>> (Held down the shift key while booting). The icons showed up!
>>
>> Boot into full mode.
>>
>> The icons flash in colour before being overlaid by black rectangles.
>>
>> Anyone had experience of this?
> I've had a similar problem on two Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit, PRO) machines. The problem started several months ago. Squares
> around desktop icons turn black as the mouse moves over them. Icons and start menu items are not responsive to mouse
> clicks.
>
> The simplest path to a working machine is too type ctr-shift-esc and log off using the capability offered in the "Users"
> tab. The problem is cleared when I log back in.
>
> I looked for the icon cache reported in the original post above (posted in alt.comp.os.windows-10) but could find no
> files in Windows 7 using the explorer search function on the Windows folder on my C disk.
>
> Any help would be most appreciated.
I think this may help?
https://neosmart.net/wiki/clear-icons-cache/
--
Al

On 5/11/2023 1:13 PM, Jeff Barnett wrote:
> On 5/10/2023 2:38 PM, pinnerite wrote:
>> This started to happen a few weeks ago.
>>
>> I tried all the suggestions posted on the vwww without success.
>>
>> The most promising one was to delete the iconcache_*.db files.
>>
>> Most of them went but three refused to go.
>>
>> I have administrator rights!  But still no go.
>>
>> A couple of times I booted into admin mode.
>> (Held down the shift key while booting). The icons showed up!
>>
>> Boot into full mode.
>>
>> The icons flash in colour before being overlaid by black rectangles.
>>
>> Anyone had experience of this?
> I've had a similar problem on two Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit, PRO) machines. The problem started several months ago. Squares around desktop icons turn black as the mouse moves over them. Icons and start menu items are not responsive to mouse clicks.
>
> The simplest path to a working machine is too type ctr-shift-esc and log off using the capability offered in the "Users" tab. The problem is cleared when I log back in.
>
> I looked for the icon cache reported in the original post above (posted in alt.comp.os.windows-10) but could find no files in Windows 7 using the explorer search function on the Windows folder on my C disk.
>
> Any help would be most appreciated.

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/rebuild-the-icon-cache-windows

C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\IconCache.db

The problem with AppData, is it is hidden. In a user command prompt (cmd.exe)
you can do this, to travel past the offender and carry on with your
work.

cd /d C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local

explorer .

This dives one level below AppData, then asks Explorer
to display the contents of Local.

Similarly, if you did

cd /d C:\Users\Username\

dir /ah

then it would list AppData, as a hidden directory.
So you know it is there and it exists.

Explorer has an Options control panel, where you
can turn on the display of Hidden items, Apply it, then
Apply To All Folders, and this will cause the hidden
items on the system to be visible. This would include
stuff in the root of C: such as "ntldr" or "pagefile.sys"
and so on, to be visible. The root of C: might only
have five items, if Hidden things remain hidden. Once
visibility is adjusted, there might be nine or more
things in the root of C: .

When you install a silly Windows OS, these are some of the
first arcane aspects you fix first. for example, you turn on
the display of File Extensions, and you can see the improvement...

dangerous # item before change, no idea what it is
# COuld be a text file. Could be anything.

dangerous.exe # with Extensions displayed, the user is in a better
# position to practice Safe Hex, by not blindly executing
# every EXE you run into.

Paul

On 5/11/2023 12:21 PM, Big Al wrote:
> On 5/11/23 13:13, this is what Jeff Barnett wrote:
>> On 5/10/2023 2:38 PM, pinnerite wrote:
>>> This started to happen a few weeks ago.
>>>
>>> I tried all the suggestions posted on the vwww without success.
>>>
>>> The most promising one was to delete the iconcache_*.db files.
>>>
>>> Most of them went but three refused to go.
>>>
>>> I have administrator rights!  But still no go.
>>>
>>> A couple of times I booted into admin mode.
>>> (Held down the shift key while booting). The icons showed up!
>>>
>>> Boot into full mode.
>>>
>>> The icons flash in colour before being overlaid by black rectangles.
>>>
>>> Anyone had experience of this?
>> I've had a similar problem on two Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit, PRO)
>> machines. The problem started several months ago. Squares around
>> desktop icons turn black as the mouse moves over them. Icons and start
>> menu items are not responsive to mouse clicks.
>>
>> The simplest path to a working machine is too type ctr-shift-esc and
>> log off using the capability offered in the "Users" tab. The problem
>> is cleared when I log back in.
>>
>> I looked for the icon cache reported in the original post above
>> (posted in alt.comp.os.windows-10) but could find no files in Windows
>> 7 using the explorer search function on the Windows folder on my C disk.
>>
>> Any help would be most appreciated.
> I think this may help?
> https://neosmart.net/wiki/clear-icons-cache/
Thank you. Now I'll wait a few days and hope I don't see the error again.
--
Jeff Barnett

On 5/11/2023 1:54 PM, Paul wrote:
> On 5/11/2023 1:13 PM, Jeff Barnett wrote:
>> On 5/10/2023 2:38 PM, pinnerite wrote:
>>> This started to happen a few weeks ago.
>>>
>>> I tried all the suggestions posted on the vwww without success.
>>>
>>> The most promising one was to delete the iconcache_*.db files.
>>>
>>> Most of them went but three refused to go.
>>>
>>> I have administrator rights!  But still no go.
>>>
>>> A couple of times I booted into admin mode.
>>> (Held down the shift key while booting). The icons showed up!
>>>
>>> Boot into full mode.
>>>
>>> The icons flash in colour before being overlaid by black rectangles.
>>>
>>> Anyone had experience of this?
>> I've had a similar problem on two Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit, PRO)
>> machines. The problem started several months ago. Squares around
>> desktop icons turn black as the mouse moves over them. Icons and start
>> menu items are not responsive to mouse clicks.
>>
>> The simplest path to a working machine is too type ctr-shift-esc and
>> log off using the capability offered in the "Users" tab. The problem
>> is cleared when I log back in.
>>
>> I looked for the icon cache reported in the original post above
>> (posted in alt.comp.os.windows-10) but could find no files in Windows
>> 7 using the explorer search function on the Windows folder on my C disk.
>>
>> Any help would be most appreciated.
>
> https://www.thewindowsclub.com/rebuild-the-icon-cache-windows
>
>    C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\IconCache.db
>
> The problem with AppData, is it is hidden. In a user command prompt
> (cmd.exe)
> you can do this, to travel past the offender and carry on with your
> work.
>
>    cd /d C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local
>
>    explorer .
>
> This dives one level below AppData, then asks Explorer
> to display the contents of Local.
>
> Similarly, if you did
>
>    cd /d C:\Users\Username\
>
>    dir /ah
>
> then it would list AppData, as a hidden directory.
> So you know it is there and it exists.
>
> Explorer has an Options control panel, where you
> can turn on the display of Hidden items, Apply it, then
> Apply To All Folders, and this will cause the hidden
> items on the system to be visible. This would include
> stuff in the root of C: such as "ntldr" or "pagefile.sys"
> and so on, to be visible. The root of C: might only
> have five items, if Hidden things remain hidden. Once
> visibility is adjusted, there might be nine or more
> things in the root of C: .
>
> When you install a silly Windows OS, these are some of the
> first arcane aspects you fix first. for example, you turn on
> the display of File Extensions, and you can see the improvement...
>
>    dangerous       # item before change, no idea what it is
>                    # COuld be a text file. Could be anything.
>
>    dangerous.exe   # with Extensions displayed, the user is in a better
>                    # position to practice Safe Hex, by not blindly
> executing
>                    # every EXE you run into.
>
>    Paul
>
Thank you. Now I'll wait a few days and hope I don't see the error again.
--
Jeff Barnett

On 5/11/2023 5:34 PM, Jeff Barnett wrote:

>>
> Thank you. Now I'll wait a few days and hope I don't see the error again.

Assuming your "wait and see" trick does not work,
look at this panel. Performance : Visual Effects.
This used to be the Aero control panel, in a sense.

https://computerinfobits.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Adjust-for-Best-Performance.jpg

Using Custom, turn them all off, then go back and
see if the black-flashing is gone.

Paul

Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:
[...]

> Explorer has an Options control panel, where you
> can turn on the display of Hidden items, Apply it, then
> Apply To All Folders, and this will cause the hidden
> items on the system to be visible. This would include
> stuff in the root of C: such as "ntldr" or "pagefile.sys"
> and so on, to be visible. The root of C: might only
> have five items, if Hidden things remain hidden. Once
> visibility is adjusted, there might be nine or more
> things in the root of C: .
>
> When you install a silly Windows OS, these are some of the
> first arcane aspects you fix first. for example, you turn on
> the display of File Extensions, and you can see the improvement...
>
> dangerous # item before change, no idea what it is
> # COuld be a text file. Could be anything.
>
> dangerous.exe # with Extensions displayed, the user is in a better
> # position to practice Safe Hex, by not blindly executing
> # every EXE you run into.
>
> Paul

Using the Options control panel (with its 'View' tab) is - also IMO -
the preferred way to show hidden files, folders or drives (and to show
(not hide) file extensions).

But - at least in Windows 10 (note the crosspost), don't know about
Windows 7 - the 'View' tab of File Explorer also has tick-boxes to
view/hide these, so you have the choice of always show/hide (Options ->
View) and only show/hide when told to do so (View).

On 5/11/2023 10:13 AM, Jeff Barnett wrote:
> On 5/10/2023 2:38 PM, pinnerite wrote:
>> This started to happen a few weeks ago.
>>
>> I tried all the suggestions posted on the vwww without success.
>>
>> The most promising one was to delete the iconcache_*.db files.
>>
>> Most of them went but three refused to go.
>>
>> I have administrator rights! But still no go.
>>
>> A couple of times I booted into admin mode.
>> (Held down the shift key while booting). The icons showed up!
>>
>> Boot into full mode.
>>
>> The icons flash in colour before being overlaid by black rectangles.
>>
>> Anyone had experience of this?
> I've had a similar problem on two Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit, PRO) machines.
> The problem started several months ago. Squares around desktop icons
> turn black as the mouse moves over them. Icons and start menu items are
> not responsive to mouse clicks.
>
> The simplest path to a working machine is too type ctr-shift-esc and log
> off using the capability offered in the "Users" tab. The problem is
> cleared when I log back in.
>
> I looked for the icon cache reported in the original post above (posted
> in alt.comp.os.windows-10) but could find no files in Windows 7 using
> the explorer search function on the Windows folder on my C disk.
>
> Any help would be most appreciated.
>

In Settings, select Mouse. In the Mouse window, select the Buttons tab.
On the Buttons tab, make sure the checkbox for "Turn on ClickLock" is
NOT checked. Select the OK button.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Beyond Meat, Impossible Meat, and other such meat substitutes
represent the ultimate in ultra-processed foods, which my doctor
told me to avoid. Real meat is natural. Beyond Meat and
Impossible Meat are definitely not natural.

On 5/11/2023 3:34 PM, Jeff Barnett wrote:
> On 5/11/2023 1:54 PM, Paul wrote:
>> On 5/11/2023 1:13 PM, Jeff Barnett wrote:
>>> On 5/10/2023 2:38 PM, pinnerite wrote:
>>>> This started to happen a few weeks ago.
>>>>
>>>> I tried all the suggestions posted on the vwww without success.
>>>>
>>>> The most promising one was to delete the iconcache_*.db files.
>>>>
>>>> Most of them went but three refused to go.
>>>>
>>>> I have administrator rights!  But still no go.
>>>>
>>>> A couple of times I booted into admin mode.
>>>> (Held down the shift key while booting). The icons showed up!
>>>>
>>>> Boot into full mode.
>>>>
>>>> The icons flash in colour before being overlaid by black rectangles.
>>>>
>>>> Anyone had experience of this?
>>> I've had a similar problem on two Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit, PRO)
>>> machines. The problem started several months ago. Squares around
>>> desktop icons turn black as the mouse moves over them. Icons and
>>> start menu items are not responsive to mouse clicks.
>>>
>>> The simplest path to a working machine is too type ctr-shift-esc and
>>> log off using the capability offered in the "Users" tab. The problem
>>> is cleared when I log back in.
>>>
>>> I looked for the icon cache reported in the original post above
>>> (posted in alt.comp.os.windows-10) but could find no files in Windows
>>> 7 using the explorer search function on the Windows folder on my C disk.
>>>
>>> Any help would be most appreciated.
>>
>> https://www.thewindowsclub.com/rebuild-the-icon-cache-windows
>>
>>     C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\IconCache.db
>>
>> The problem with AppData, is it is hidden. In a user command prompt
>> (cmd.exe)
>> you can do this, to travel past the offender and carry on with your
>> work.
>>
>>     cd /d C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local
>>
>>     explorer .
>>
>> This dives one level below AppData, then asks Explorer
>> to display the contents of Local.
>>
>> Similarly, if you did
>>
>>     cd /d C:\Users\Username\
>>
>>     dir /ah
>>
>> then it would list AppData, as a hidden directory.
>> So you know it is there and it exists.
>>
>> Explorer has an Options control panel, where you
>> can turn on the display of Hidden items, Apply it, then
>> Apply To All Folders, and this will cause the hidden
>> items on the system to be visible. This would include
>> stuff in the root of C: such as "ntldr" or "pagefile.sys"
>> and so on, to be visible. The root of C: might only
>> have five items, if Hidden things remain hidden. Once
>> visibility is adjusted, there might be nine or more
>> things in the root of C: .
>>
>> When you install a silly Windows OS, these are some of the
>> first arcane aspects you fix first. for example, you turn on
>> the display of File Extensions, and you can see the improvement...
>>
>>     dangerous       # item before change, no idea what it is
>>                     # COuld be a text file. Could be anything.
>>
>>     dangerous.exe   # with Extensions displayed, the user is in a better
>>                     # position to practice Safe Hex, by not blindly
>> executing
>>                     # every EXE you run into.
>>
>>     Paul
>>
> Thank you. Now I'll wait a few days and hope I don't see the error again.
It's been over a week since I've had a problem. The original state was
intermittent so no guarantees. The key advice provided by Paul was the
article at https://www.thewindowsclub.com/rebuild-the-icon-cache-windows
and the elaboration of instructions following that pointer in the quoted
text above. Also thanks to Big Al who pointed me at the icon cache in
the first place.
--
Jeff Barnett