Our Windows 10 computer incorporates a series of tools that we use in our day to day in an essential way. One of them is File Explorer. A useful tool that will allow us to navigate between the different folders that are part of our computer in order to organize and control the files of the different storage systems that we use.
One of the problems that we can find with Windows Explorer is that it does not update automatically . This is something that can be extremely annoying, especially if we constantly work with files, moving them from one folder to another or deleting those that do not work, as we will not see the action reflected immediately. This can also cause us not to see the thumbnails of the images, PDF or other files because they are not updated. But don’t worry, this doesn’t have to be a serious problem, but rather annoying. Therefore, today we are going to see how we can solve it in Windows 10, either from the Windows Registry Editor or by making some adjustments in the explorer.
Windows explorer does not update automatically
In order to solve this problem, it will be necessary to access the Windows “Registry Editor”. To do this we must execute the keyboard shortcut “Windows + r” and launch the Execute command. Here we must write “regedit” and click OK. Automatically a window appears with the Registry Editor open.
Next, if our computer has a version of Windows based on 64-bit systems, we must access the following path:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / Wow6432Node / CLSID
In the event that our PC has Windows on a 32-bit system, we will access the following route
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT / CLSID
Once we have located the path, we must right-click on CLSID, selecting “New” and then “Key”, which we will give the following name:
{BDEADE7F-C265-11D0-BCED-00A0C90AB50F}
Later, we click on the panel with the right button, click on “New”. Now we will create a Key DWORD for 32-bit systems and QWORD for 64-bit systems. Once created, we will name it “Refresh” .
Next, we click on it with the right button and choose “Modify”. In the next window we must make sure that its value is 0 (zero) and we accept.
Now we just have to close the editor and restart our computer to verify that the changes have been applied and the File Explorer updates correctly again.
The browser does not update thumbnails of images and PDF files
Another File Explorer update issue refers to issues displaying thumbnails of images, PDFs, or other files. In order to solve it, we can carry out one or more of the following steps.
Reset icon cache
Let’s try to fix the problem by resetting the icon cache. To do this, we must open the File Explorer, writing its name in the Start menu search engine and selecting it.
Once opened we must be able to see the hidden files. To do this, click on the “View” tab and check the “Hidden elements” box. We can also activate it by clicking on the “Options” tab on the right side, clicking on the “View” tab and checking the “Show hidden files, folders and drives” box.
Next, we must navigate through the browser to the following route:
C: / Users / Nombre usuario / AppData / Local
Once here we must search and locate the file “IconCache.db”, which we must eliminate . For this we can select it and press the DELETE key on our keyboard. Or, right-click to open the context menu and select “Delete”. Once done, we reboot to see if the problem is solved.
Clear File Explorer history
Another option that can help us solve the problem is to delete the browser history. And is that Windows Explorer is responsible for keeping files and folders updated, which can sometimes cause some commands to be blocked.
For this reason we must open the File Explorer again from the Windows Start menu and select the “Vista” menu and click on the “Options” button and “Change folder and search options”.
Next, a new window will appear where we see the Privacy section at the bottom. Here we find “Delete the file Explorer history” and click on the “Delete” button. Finally, click on “Apply” and “OK” to confirm the changes made. Once this is done, we check if the files and folders can be updated.
Disable the Quick Access feature
The Quick Access function helps us locate our files and folders that we have viewed most recently faster. But this can also cause certain problems that may affect the viewing of image thumbnails, PDF files, and other files.
That is why we are going to try disabling this function to see if it solves the problem. To do this, let’s open the File Explorer again from the Start menu. Click on the “View” tab, then on the “Options” icon and “Change folder and search options”.
In the next window we go to the “Privacy” section and uncheck the “Show recently used files in Quick Access” and “Show frequently used folders in Quick Access” boxes. Finally, click on “Apply” and ” Accept “to confirm the changes. We restart the PC and check if the changes have had the desired effect.
Reset search options
Another very simple option that we can try is to reset the browser’s search options. To do this we open Windows Explorer from the search bar of the Start menu. Click on the “View” tab, on the “Options” button and “Change folder and search options”.
Next, we click on the “Search” tab, and we mark or unmark all the options . Finally, click on “Apply” and “OK” to confirm the changes. Once this is done, we restart the computer and go on to check if the browser updates correctly again.
