All my desktop icons turned into unknown file type

[Samboy]

After I deleted all my malware threats using Malwarebytes, then I restarted my PC per instructions suddenly all my desktop icons turned into unknown file type. Please help me fix this.

[Samboy]

This is how it looks. Can anyone help me please?

 

[nukecad]

The icon cache has become scrambled, it happens to all of us occasionally.

 

You will need to rebuild the cache, to do this delete the corrupted cache and restart your computer, this wil build a new cache:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2635447/how-to-resolve-an-issue-where-all-windows-7-desktop-icons-have-become

Edited November 15, 2017 by nukecad

[Samboy]

all my icons has .lnk extension I tried shortcut fixer, still nothing works, I'm going to try this and see what happens and report 

[Samboy]

33 minutes ago, nukecad said:

The icon cache has become scrambled, it happens to all of us occasionally.

 

You will need to rebuild the cache, to do this delete the corrupted cache and restart your computer, this wil build a new cache:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2635447/how-to-resolve-an-issue-where-all-windows-7-desktop-icons-have-become

This didn't work still my icons are unknown

[exile360]

You can try the .BAT file attached in this tutorial.  Running that and then restarting my system when prompted has always corrected this issue for me whenever it has occurred, hopefully it will do the same for you.

[Samboy]

I tried everything but nothing happens  any other way?

[AdvancedSetup]

Let's get some logs please. Maybe there is something else going on with your computer.

 

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system.
You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

• Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
• Press Scan button.
• It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
• The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

[Samboy]

These are the scan report. Thank you  

Addition.txt

FRST.txt

[exile360]

I just noticed something odd about the image of your desktop you posted.  While the icons do indeed show the unassociated/unknown file icon, underneath them if you look around the edges and corners you can see the legitimate program icons behind them.  I don't know what it means, but it does mean that it is not an issue with Windows not being able to associate/identify those programs/icons/files/shortcuts so it has to be something else, something I've never seen before.

[Samboy]

25 minutes ago, exile360 said:

I just noticed something odd about the image of your desktop you posted.  While the icons do indeed show the unassociated/unknown file icon, underneath them if you look around the edges and corners you can see the legitimate program icons behind them.  I don't know what it means, but it does mean that it is not an issue with Windows not being able to associate/identify those programs/icons/files/shortcuts so it has to be something else, something I've never seen before.

Yes the original icons of the programs is covered with the unknown file image.

[exile360]

All of the broken icons are shortcuts, aren't they?  I bet what's broken here is the image used for indicating that an icon represents a shortcut.  Normally it is a small arrow rendered over the icon, but if it is broken or missing, that could probably cause an issue like this.  Let's try to fix it.

• Download the Windows Shortcut Arrow Hacks ZIP file from this page located here and save it to a location where you can find it easily such as your Downloads folder or your desktop

• Next, extract the ZIP file to a folder in a location where you can easily find it such as your desktop

• Right-click on the Restore Default Shortcut Arrows.reg file and select Merge and click Yes/Continue/OK to any prompts/confirmation dialogs

• Restart your computer once it has been successfully merged into the registry and let us know if it is now resolved or not

Hopefully that corrects the issue.

[Samboy]

Thank you so so much @exile360  

[nukecad]

Good spot exile360, I've never seen that before.

And good analysis that it was the shortcut arrow that was corrupted.

(Always like to learn something new).

[exile360]

You're welcome, I'm glad the fix worked

@nukecad yeah, this one was a new one for me too, but luckily I spotted those parts of the icons around the edges.  That was the big clue because I remembered that the way the shortcut icon overlay works is by using a full sized icon image with the small arrow in the corner and the rest of the image being transparent, so if it is corrupted it makes sense that the result would look something like what is pictured in the first post.

[Clang]

22 hours ago, Samboy said:

Thank you so so much @exile360  

Love your wallpaper!