We have confirmed a bug in File Explorer with the Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2 update KB5032190 (OS builds 22621.2715 and 22631.2715) released on November 14, 2023.
After installing KB5032190, in some environments, if you disable "Auto-arrange icons" and then restart or sign out, the desktop icons may become disorganized.
Microsoft acknowledges Copilot bug in Windows 11 22H2, 23H2
Recently, Microsoft acknowledged that the problem with desktop icon placement was caused by Copilot (preview version), so I tried disabling Copilot using the method on the following page.
However, even if Copilot is disabled, the desktop icons may still be disorganized, so we believe the root cause lies in Explorer itself.
The current version of Explorer is "10.0.22321.2715".
Problems with Windows 11 Explorer are not new. Ever since the tab function was added, there have been problems with Explorer opening on its own, or even when minimized, it is restored and brought to the foreground, and these have not been resolved.
The problem of desktop icons being disorganized occurs regardless of the number of icons, whether there are many or few.
The issue of the Explorer window appearing in the foreground appears to have already been resolved in the Release Preview channel and will likely be resolved in a future update.
In addition, the following problems have been reported after installing KB5032190:
- Taskbar icons disappear
- Switching between virtual desktops is slow and choppy
- Wallpaper misalignment
Additionally, in some environments, when the installation of KB5032190 reaches a certain percentage, the system may repeatedly reboot, causing an infinite loop of updates and restores.
Microsoft has not yet announced these issues.
If you haven't installed KB5032190, be sure to make a backup if you decide to update.
We also recommend that you read the next page in case of an emergency.
How to open the Recovery Environment (WinRE) in Windows 11
How to create, restore, and delete system backups
2023 / 11 / 28:
Issues and solutions confirmed in Win11 KB5032190
2024 / 03 / 23:
There was a problem with the image verification for comments (this has been fixed), so we will introduce the comments we received from inquiries here. (From User 256)
Thank you for this useful information.
I am the person who posted about the issues (1) to (3) above on November 28, 2023. I decided on a handle name in case I need to post again in the future if something happens again. I was able to solve all of these issues using the following method! Thank you very much.
How to revert the Details Pane in Windows 11 Explorer to the previous version https://windows-waza.com/how-to-return-win11-explorers-details-window-to-the-previous-version/ It's likely... or rather, it's almost certain that the bug was introduced when the details window was updated with KB5032190 or 23H2. Therefore, at least the "blurry icons" problem did not occur when the details window was not displayed.
Also, although it's not mentioned in the post above... Windows 11 Explorer is automatically activated and displayed in the foreground. https://answers.microsoft.com/ja-jp/windows/forum/all/windows11%E3%81%AE%E3%82%A8%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9/de04292c-f211-4472-81ce-cf751548b9a1 ↑This issue has also not occurred since I restored the details window. I don't know if it's related, but just to be safe, I'll write down what I found out about this issue.
The following is what I confirmed in my environment before trying to resolve the issue by performing the "How to revert the Details window to the previous version." The blurry icons issue occurs when multiple file or folder icons are selected in the Explorer window while the Details window is displayed. Therefore, this issue does not occur when only one icon is selected, or when using icons on the desktop or Control Panel.
If icons are not displayed correctly due to an inappropriate cache, rather than deleting the cache files each time, it is more convenient to set the "write" permission for the folder where they are saved to "deny" and then delete the cache files (*.db). The folders where write permission is set to "deny" are as follows:
C:\Users\[Login User Name]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer However, when you run this process, it naturally reads the icons of all the files and folders in that folder every time you open the folder, which is somewhat inefficient, especially for thumbnail-style icons. However, in my environment, this wasn't a problem for anything other than video files. If you have a lot of video files, it can take quite a while for all of their icons to be displayed.
