Why Windows icons only appear when you hover the mouse over them: causes and solutions

When Windows icons only appear when you hover the mouse over them, the user experience is annoying and confusing. This problem is usually related to icon cache issues, outdated drivers, problems with third-party applications, and other reasons. Let's look at what these are. Main causes and how to solve this problem as soon as possible.

Windows icons only appear when hovering the mouse: main causes

Why do Windows icons only appear when you hover over them? While not a common problem, it's generally It is associated with specific errors in the icon cache.Windows Explorer failures or conflicts with personalization programs or applications.

In most cases, it's an isolated glitch that can be fixed by rebuilding the cache, restarting the browser, or simply adjusting desktop settings. These are the Main causes of Windows icon failures:

• Windows Explorer failureWhen the explorer.exe process (the one corresponding to Explorer) crashes or malfunctions, the icons may not display correctly.
• Icon cache damagedWindows stores icons in a cache file to load them faster. If this file becomes corrupted, The icons may take several minutes to appear.They disappear completely or only appear when you interact with them.
• Accidental settingsSettings such as tablet mode or changes to the desktop display may hide the icons.
• Outdated drivers or systemIf your computer's graphics drivers or operating system are outdated, the appearance of the icons may be affected.
• Temporary system errorsBlocked processes or internal problems may cause icons to only appear when hovering over them.
• Third-party problemsIf you have customization applications that modify the system's appearance or icons, it may be interfering with the correct display of the icons.

Recommended solutions

If you're experiencing Windows icons only appearing when you hover your mouse over them, here are some ideas that might help. The first thing you can do if the problem arose suddenly is to restart your PCSometimes, temporary problems can be fixed with a simple restart. But if you've already tried that and the problem persists, try the following solutions.

Restart Windows Explorer

Restarting Windows Explorer can fix many problems: when photos don't open correctly, if icons take a long time to appear, or if Windows icons only appear when you hover over them. These are the Steps to restart Windows Explorer:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to to shelter the Administrator of tareas (or right-click on the taskbar and select it).
2. Look for the Processes section and locate Windows Explorer.
3. Right-click on it and press Restart or simply select it and tap Restart task at the top of the screen.

Rebuild the icon cache

The second solution you can try is rebuilding the icon cache. To do this, open Command Prompt with administrator privileges by typing cmd in the Windows Start menu. Once inside, you need to run the following commands:

• taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F
  DEL /A /Q “%localappdata%\IconCache.db”
  start explorer.exe

Done. You'll see your PC screen go black for a few moments and then everything will reappear correctly. Don't worry. What you've just done is Delete and regenerate your computer's icon cacheWith this simple practice, you should be able to see your icons again without any problems.

Check your desktop settings

If Windows icons only appear when you hover your mouse over them, tablet mode might be enabled. Turn it off and check if the icons reappear as usual. On the other hand, Perhaps the "Show desktop icons" option is disabled.To check, do the following:

1. Click on a blank area of ​​the desktop.
2. Select View from the menu.
3. Make sure that Show desktop icons is checked.
4. And if the icons are jumbled up, click on Automatically arrange icons to keep them in place.

Update drivers and operating system

If, after all of the above, the Windows icons only appear when you hover the mouse over them, one more thing you can do is update graphics driversIf they are not available when you search automatically on your computer, the best option is to search for them on the manufacturer's website (Intel, NVIDIAetc.). On the other hand, make sure you install the latest Windows updates from Windows Update.

Use the command sfc /scannow

If there are corrupted files affecting the display of icons on your computer, you can find out and repair them. running the command sfc /scannowTo achieve this, do the following:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Type or copy the command sfc /scannow and press Enter.

Other recommendations when Windows icons only appear when you hover the mouse over them

If after applying these solutions, the Windows icons still only appear when you hover the mouse over them, There is most likely a deeper problem in the systemFor example, if there's a problem with your profile, you should create a new one. And if the problem started after an update, consider a full Windows repair or a system restore to a previous point.

These are other possible solutions if Windows icons only appear when you hover the mouse over them: 

• Check third-party softwareSome desktop customization programs, such as themes or icon managers, can interfere with the normal loading of icons. If you recently installed one, try disabling or uninstalling it and see if the problem is resolved.
• Create a new user profileIf the problem is only with your account, it could be due to corrupted profile settings. Create a new profile and check if the icons are working correctly.
• Restore the systemIf the problem with the display of icons appeared after an update or installation, use "Fix problems" or "Reset this PC" to return to a previous point where everything was working correctly.