When you create a new Microsoft account in Windows 11 and sign in, you may notice that desktop icons, file icons in File Explorer, drive icons, and Quick Access icons become transparent and are not displayed.
This page explains the causes and solutions for when all icons, including those on the desktop, become transparent.
Actual symptoms
Please see the actual symptoms.
No desktop or Explorer icons will appear, only a checkbox can be checked.
I was able to run the downloaded file, but I could only check the checkbox for the shortcut on my desktop; I was unable to select or run the shortcut itself.
The Quick Access icon, hard disk icon, and DVD drive icon are also not displayed.
The taskbar icon was displayed correctly.
Cause
Usually, icon display problems are caused by the icon cache, but since deleting the icon cache did not solve the problem, in this case we believe the problem lies with Explorer itself.
For example, this may occur after installing a third-party UI customization app or after installing Windows updates.
Solution
1. Click the Search button next to the Start button.
2. Enter "command" in the search box and the command prompt will appear on the right. Click "Run as administrator".
3. Type sfc /scannow in the command prompt and press Enter.
Important points to note when running sfc /scannow to repair system files
If the Start button doesn't work, you can also run it from Task Manager.
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc on your keyboard at the same time to open the Task Manager.
1. Click "Run a new task"
2. Type "sfc /scannow"
3. Check "Create this task with administrator privileges."
4. Click OK
4. System file repair will begin, please wait a moment.
Once the scan is complete, reboot your computer.
*If the Start button does not work, press Ctrl + Alt + Delete simultaneously and restart from the bottom right of the screen.
If there are no other issues, your desktop and Explorer icons will display normally.
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