Help Desk

Fix for icons that appear visually corrupted in Windows 95/98

1. Start Windows in Safe Mode by pressing F8 and choosing "Safe Mode" from the list of options when "Starting Windows 95" or "Starting Windows 98" appears on the screen at boot time. Starting Windows 98 in this manner may be more difficult because the text is virtually impossible to see, for Windows 98, I recommend pressing and holding the F8 key just after your computer gets past the screen where it detects your processor type and amount of memory.
2. Start Windows Explorer by selecting it from the "Programs" menu under your Start button or by right-clicking on the Start button and choosing "Explore" with your left mouse button.
3. Expand the contents of the C: drive by clicking on the plus sign (+) to the left of (C:).
4. Choose the "Windows" folder from underneath (C:).
5. Click "View" on the menubar in Windows Explorer and select "Folder Options".
6. Click the "View" tab in the Folder Options dialog and make sure "Show All Files" is activated. In Windows 95 revisions A and B without the Internet Explorer Desktop Update installed this option may be on the first tab in the Folder Options dialog.
7. Return to Explorer by clicking "Ok" in the Folder Options dialog. Right click on the file "ShellIconCache" in the "Windows" Folder, and remove it by right clicking on it and then clicking on delete. As a precaution, you may wish to backup this file first by right clicking on it and dragging it to another folder with the right mouse button. When you release the right mouse button, choose "Copy Here" to create a backup of the file, although this should never be necessary.
8. Restart Windows normally. Your icons should be restored to their former glory.