WiseCleaner Think Tank
Encounter difficult computer problems?
All about maintenance and optimization of your Windows System.
Feb 14, 2025
Is your Windows device failing to display thumbnails for your files? This common issue can arise from several factors. You might have accidentally disabled thumbnails, opting always to display icons instead. Other possible causes include setting the icon size too small, altering the view style, insufficient disk space, issues within File Explorer, or interference from third-party applications and the thumbnail cache.
It can be frustrating when the file thumbnails aren't displaying, especially when you're trying to quickly identify files by their visual content.
Here are several methods to resolve this issue:
Windows allows users to permanently disable thumbnails and replace them with icons. This is sometimes the default setting in some Windows systems. You can try this to enable them.
1. Press Win + E to open File Explorer.
2. Click on the three dots in the toolbar and select Options.
3. In the Folder Options window, go to the View tab.
4. Make sure the Always show icons, never thumbnails option is unchecked.
5. Click Apply, then OK to confirm the changes.
Clearing the thumbnail cache instructs Windows to rebuild the cache, which usually resolves thumbnail issues. So, if you haven't cleared it yet, you can try it and restart your device so Windows can rebuild it.
1. Press Win + S and type Disk Cleanup, then select the Disk Cleanup app from the search results.
2. Choose the drive where Windows is installed (usually C:) and click OK.
3. In the Disk Cleanup window, check Thumbnails. Click OK, then Delete Files to clear the thumbnail cache.
4. Restart your Windows system.
Visual effects help you customize the appearance of your device's display and optimize it to get the best performance. If you opt to have Windows optimize the visual effects for the best performance, it may disable some of these effects. If it disables thumbnail previews from these visual effects, you won't see them. To verify this point, you follow these steps.
1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, then type sysdm.cpl and press Enter.
2. In the System Properties window, go to the Advanced tab. Under Performance, click Settings.
3. Make sure the Show thumbnails instead of icons item is checked in the Performance Options window. Click Apply, then OK.
1. Press Win + S type File Explorer Options and select File Explorer Options from the results.
2. In the General tab, click Restore Defaults.
3. Go to the View tab and click Restore Defaults there as well. Click Apply, then OK.
Restarting File Explorer is usually enough to fix most issues with icons, navigation panes, ribbons, tabs, and everything related. If you have not restarted File Explorer yet, you should; it may help you resolve the thumbnail issue.
1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Locate the Processes tab, then right-click on it, and select Restart.
When the icon size is set to small or if you change the view style to lists or details, Windows does not show thumbnails. Therefore, if thumbnails are enabled in the Folder Options settings, it’s necessary to check the icon size and view style of your files and folders.
1. Right-click in the folder where thumbnails aren't showing up, and navigate to View.
2. Select any size other than Small icons.
3. If changing the icon size doesn't make a difference, change the view style by right-clicking in the same folder, navigating to View again, and selecting Tiles or Content.
By following these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue of thumbnails not displaying in Windows 11. If the problem persists, consider checking for any third-party software conflicts or malware that might be affecting your system.
