If I changed a picture file in Windows XP, I could go to the folder containing the file and right click on the thumbnail. The option 'Refresh thumbnails' was on the list. There doesn't seem to be this option in Windows 7. I can temporarily refresh a thumbnail. If I change the thumbnail size fron large to extra large for example, the thumbnail IS refreshed but if Ichange back to 'large', close and re-open the folder, the old thumbnail is back. So I now have lots of pictures with out-of-date thumbnails.

I was going to suggest trying to find the thumbs.db file, but the thumbnail caching process appears to have been reworked in Windows 7,...From what I can see, thumbcache*.db database files are now storedin this folder:C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer This seems to imply all thumbnails for all images in all folders are stored in central files now, organized by thumbnail size,so deleting a file to cause the regeneration of thumbnails in a particular folder is no longer an option. However, you can delete all the stored thumbnails through the Disk Cleanup function (see the link below for details).This seems pertinent: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/10797-thumbnail-cache-clear-reset.htmlI suppose you *could*disable the thumbnail caching feature entirely (something that requires registry hacking) to get them to be regenerated every time; it would certainly be harder for them to get out of date in that case. :)-Noel

Hi mike-holden, You can also try the following steps: 1. Go to Start, type folder options into the Search box and then press Enter. 2. On the View tab, uncheck "Always show icons, never thumbnails". 3. Click Apply and then click OK. 4. Go to Start, type folder options into the Search box and then press Enter. 5. On the View tab, check "Always show icons, never thumbnails". 6. Click Apply and then click OK. Please see if the issue can be resolved now. In addition, it is recommended cleaning up cookies, temporary internet files and temp files. You can use Disk Cleanup to do this. (There is a "Thumbnails" option in Disk Cleanup and you can check it to clean it up.) Regards, Linda

Hello Linda Yan,1. "Always show icons, never thumbnails" was already unchecked in Folder Options.2. Ran Disk Cleanup with Thumbnails checked. When I looked in a pictures folder, the old thumbnails were still there.Tell me, why did MS remove the "Refresh thumbnails" in Windows 7?

Dear Noel Carboni,Thanks for your suggestion, but...I ran Disk Cleanup with Thumbnails checked. When I looked in a pictures folder, the old thumbnails were still there.I do want to go into the registry to refresh thumbnails. There must be a better way..

Dear Linda Yan,Forgot to mention, when I checked "Always show icons, never thumbnails" in Folder Options I just got icons in the Picture folder. (as you might expect). Not much use if you want to find a picture quickly. Unchecking "Always show icons, never thumbnails" again displayed the old icons.

Since you have the "Always show icons, never thumbnails" option checked, and yet you're still seeing thumbnails, I wonder whether it's possible you've installed some Explorer extension that's showing the thumbnails.Have you installed any software originally made for an older version of Windows to do something like this? Any special codec for a digital camera, for example?If you're not sure, ShellExView will show you non-Microsoft Explorer extensions: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.htmlLook for the non-Microsoft extensions, highlighted in red.-Noel

Dear Noel Carboni,I ran ShellExView. There were 7 non-Microsoft extensions listed.3 x NVIDIA Corp.2 x TuneUp Utilites 1 x Intel Corp.1 with no Company name, with the Extension name - 'Bluewire General Property Sheet', Product name - ContextH Application.I don't recognize the last one.Tried to disable the extension. When I clicked on Disable, the Disabled column entry still showed 'No'.Mike

Hi Mike, Did you try deleting the thumbcache_xxx.db files in the %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer folder as Noel mentioned? If not, please delete them and see if the issue can be resolved. Also, search all the thumbs.db file in the system and delete them as well. (Please change the folder to other views such asList before deleting this file.) The thumbnails should be recreated after deleting these files.

Dear Linda Yan, I had problems deleting the thumbcache_xxx.db files. I got a message 'This action cannot be completed because the file is open in Windows Explorer'. I deleted all the thumbs.db documents and files but this made no difference to the thumbnails.Mike

Hi Mike, Please create a new user account and see if the issue occurs. Also, please re-run Disk Cleanup tool by the steps below to check the result: 1. Go to Start, type Disk Cleanup in to the Search box and then press Enter. 2. Check "Temporary Internet Files", "Thumbnails", "Temporary files", and then click OK. 3. Click "Delete Files" button.

Well well, a day later, without having done anything after much exploration, restarting, switching off the caching, the problem has DISAPPEARED. Perhaps it was a Windows 7 patch. Whatever, it works. Below is now redundant...... I have the same problem in Windows 7 Pictures Library. The images remain visible in original place after their removal/deletion - in other words, automatic refresh does not work (which of course makes image management painful as one cannot see what has been moved/deleted). I have done all the previous steps (incl disk cleanup to remove thumbnails and to Always show icons etc) but the images remain unchanged until one leaves the program and reenters it.

Dear Linda Yan,I did the Disk cleanup first. It made no difference.NOW THIS IS WIERD.I created a new account.I changed a picture using Paint, because my usual program, Photoshop Elements, was not availablein this account.When I saved the picture the thumbnail changed.I closedand opened the folder and the thumbnail remained changed.I went back to my old account and changed another picture using Paint.The thumnail changed - and stayed changed.I tried the same procedure using Photoshop Elements.The thumbnails didNOT change.So the problem appears to occur with pictures changed by Photoshop Elements but not by Paint.

Hi Mike, I downloaded Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 free trial version and tested the issue. However, the issue could not be reproduced. Could you please let me know the version of Adobe Photoshop Elements you are using? If it is an earlier version, please contact Adobe directly to confirm if there is any compatibility issue with Windows 7. Regards, Linda

Dear Linda Yan,I am using Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, which works fine in all other respects.However, I go back to my original question. What happened to the 'Refresh thumbnails' option which was so useful in Windows XP?

This option has been removed. I agree with you that it would be more convenient to have this option to refresh thumbnail manually. I will forward your feedback to related group. Thank you again for your time and feedback!

DearLinda Yan,Thank you for trying to resolve this problem.I hope the 'Refresh thumbnails' option gets reinstated in the near future.

Solution! Just delete the affected files/folders then undo it! Thumbnails regenerate properly

Thanks Taylor M. This was helpful, but it would be better if the Refresh Thumbnails option were reinstated.

I tried all the suggestions here and in every other forum on the subject I could find. None of them worked! I did find a method, myself, for changing one icon at a time. Not much use if you have a geat many, but OK if you have a thumbnail that you find particularly annoying. Go to the folder containing the picture file in Windows. Display the picture with Windows Photo Viewer. Rotate the picture then close the window. The thumbnail in the folder is shown rotated. Close the folder. Open the picture file in Adobe Photoshop Elements (This may work using other photo software, I don't know). Rotate the picture back. Save the picture, and close Adobe Photoshop Elements. Re-open the folder containing the picture file in Windows. The thumbnail now displays correctly. Even when you refresh the window, the thumbnail does not change back. This is a pain in the ****. In fact it is my only real complaint about Windows 7, so PLEASE, Microsoft, reinstate the Refresh Thumbnail option ASAP.

I'm also struggling with this issue in regards to Adobe Photoshop 7. It seems like it might be an Adobe issue, but I'm not sure. I used to be able to fix this with the old "refresh thumbnails" option on XP, it's a shame it's gone as it's causing me a lot of trouble. Taylor M's advice seemed very useful at first but I'm running on a network drive, so it wouldn't let me undo! Luckily I only tried this with a few files, so I was able to retrieve them from the backup. Anyway, a fix would be greatly appreciated, though by the sounds of it I might just have to upgrade to a newer version of Photoshop.

Since MS Paint will correctly alter the thumbnail, you can correct a thumbnail by opening the file in Paint and saving it again, from Paint. This worked for me whereas the other suggestions did not. Good luck!

This happens only with some photographed JPG files that are stored with the EXIF data (specifically Exif.Thumbnail). Why Paint saves the picture with the correct thumbnail ? When saving the picture in Paint, it corrects EXIF data. My solution is to delete only the "broken" Exif.Thumbnail data using a free program exiv2 (http://www.exiv2.org/sample.html). Using the command prompt in the folder that contains exiv2 and picture (Example.jpg), write: exiv2 -dt Example.jpg It works for me!

This happens to me as well, but only (so far) with .ico files. This is a problem, as I am a graphic designer who works on .ico files every day. If I make any changes to the file, the changes are not represented by the thumbnail. The only view which accurately represents the latest state of the file itself is the "content" view. This is fine when I have ten or fewer files, but I can regularly have dozens of .ico files in the same folder, and it would be very helpful to be able to select the "medium icons" view and have it work. Rebooting, or deleting the icon cache, are not helpful workarounds, IMO.

I found that switching to Extra Large Icons then Large Icons fixed it for me.

Interesting. That does not, however, work for me.

Not an Adobe issue for sure - I have this same problem, and I don't have Adobe - I use Corel Photo-Paint. I've tried all of the suggestions above, and others from other forums. The only way I've been able to correct a thumbnail is to open the file in Photo-Paint, copy the entire image, create a new image from the clipboard, and then Save As the old file-name. I haven't tried Paint - but I imagine the results would be the same. But this is hardly a solution, as it only works for one picture at a time. Please, Microsoft, restore the Refresh Thumbnail option - it IS needed. Either that, or fix the problem that made Refresh Thumbnail necessary in the first place. As a photographer, my main use of the computer is for photo editing. I'm seriously considering Linux as a better, faster and more stable alternative - an much cheaper too.

I have this same problem. I use Adobe as well as Corel Photo Paint and Microsoft paint. This, among many other thing that were available and necessary in XP, doesn't work and we shouldn't have to access the registry to fix it - that's ridiculous! I

I'm with you on this one, mike-holden! How do we communicate such needs to Microsoft???

I have the same problem with ICOs. The workaround I use is to switch to "Content" view.

Content view fixes part of it -- the refresh issue. But when I have a folder of 100+ icons, having the view in a list going vertically (and no other choice) makes it hard to do a visual scan of which file I'm looking for. I want the other views to work the way they used to!

I downloaded that program, but can't figure out how to do what you are saying. When I open the program the command prompt file opens and shuts before I can do anything. I'm very confused. Please explain more. Thank you.

For a single picture file, I did this: Do a copy of the original image file. Delete the original file. The new copy has the correct thumbnail image.

... folder options ... Always show icons, never thumbnails ... Marked As Answer by Linda Yan - Microsoft Contingent Staff This is definitely NOT the answer. Please un-mark it as the answer. The answers that did work for me were: 1. Switch to Extra Large Icons view, and then back to your preferred view (mine is Large Icons). 2. Copy the files. Delete the original files. Move the copied files back

While this topic was obviously started a looooong time ago, maybe there are still users out there like me who are just now getting to the point of being fed-up enough with this problem to seek a solution. As OP mike_holden states in his 07/22/10 post, rotating the thumbnails in Windows Explorer folder-view (and then rotating them back) seems to be the most simple solution and worked for me. Depending on your situation (importing new files or dealing with existing files), there are multiple strategies for correcting the problem. Since I'm most often affected when importing tens or hundreds of new digital images from a camera that recycles its file names, I'll discuss the method for dealing with that situation: First, transfer the files to your computer in a way that keeps them all in the same folder, separate from previously downloaded material on your computer (I understand some 3rd Party software controls this process. Since I don't use such software, I can't speak to how it will affect what we're talking about here, but the important thing to remember is to get all the new images in a folder by themselves). Now, open the folder containing the new images. From Windows Explore view select "Organize" and then "Select All"; all the files (thumbnails) should be highlighted. Now, right-click on any one of the thumbs (files), doesn't matter which one, and select "Rotate Clockwise". All the files in the folder should begin to sequentially rotate clockwise 90 degrees. As they rotate, you should see the refreshed (new) thumbnail. Once all the thumbs have rotated, again right-click on any one of the thumbs and select "Rotate COUNTERCLOCKWISE". All the files in the folder should begin to again sequentially rotate, this time counterclockwise 90 degrees, back to their original orientation, with their new (correct) thumbnail. Good Luck and why MS ever deleted this utility is beyond me.......

Enzeru, please keep in mind that rotating the images back and forth in the manner you describe causes actual degradation of the images! They're being decoded and re-encoded with lossy JPEG algorithms. I've set my system to show every folder as a General Items folder, and I don't use libraries, and I have to say I never see a problem with thumbnails being lost or in need of updates. Just mentioning this to suggest some possible things you can do to help with the root problem (rather than the workaround). By the way, if you do any raw shooting or use Photoshop, there's an inexpensive commercial shell extension called the FastPictureViewer Codec Pack that does a great job of making thumbnails and even Windows Photo Viewer previews out of the raw files and PSD files. I bought and have been using this nice little package for quite a while now. It's very stable. -Noel

I have found the solution! I don't have the original source, but it was another forum on Microsoft TechNet... I don't take 100% credit for this, but here it is! Open up Registry Editor (start - run - regedit) File - Export and save a backup just in case Edit - Find and search for: dontrefresh The first and only result on my Windows 7 system finds a REG_DWORD that is set to "1". Double click it, change Value Data to 0, and click OK. I restarted explorer.exe (YOU NEED TO DO THIS) and it worked. You can do this by simply restarting your computer, or ending the process from Task Manager (and starting a new explorer.exe). Yay!

I could not find "dontrefresh" nor "REG_DWORD" in my Windows 7 64-bit registry (start - run - regedit).

This is false as long as the image has dimensions that are a multiple of 16 (and possibly 8, depending on the settings). JPEG has supported lossless rotation for a while, and Microsoft uses it if available, and will give you a warning if it is not. And nearly all digital cameras and scanners output files that fit these constraints.

I doubt that the number of bits is that significant. Surely Photoshop cannot be working directly on JPEG format, but must convert to some bit-map form (.psd?) at Open? Otherwise how could it do rotations etc as fast as it does? Rotating a picture (eg to portrait format) refreshes the thumbnail to reflect that change, but makes no other changes whatsoever. I assume it sends a flag to the system, which then rotates the thumbnail to match, but does not otherwise regenerate it, at least in W7 starter. Really, a fix to this problem in W7 is needed urgently. I have just returned from holiday with some 500 pictures in 30 folders. They mostly needed adjustments in Photoshop. To get the thumbnails updated, I was obliged to put them on to a USB memory and copy them into my old XP computer (10 years old, but it still works, if slowly). There it is relatively easy. Go to folder after folder; in each one select all (CTRL+A - yes, I'm a keyboard person, but do it mouse-wise if you prefer) then invoke File>refresh (ALT F F, ditto). Then copy the results back to the USB memory, and use that to replace the originals on the W7 engine. Tedious, but it works. Linda: please fix this in the next possible update - and let us know when you have.

I know this post is old, but your note caused it to come back up on my radar, Tim, and I hadn't seen trkly's (bogus) response before... This is false as long as the image has dimensions that are a multiple of 16 (and possibly 8, depending on the settings). JPEG has supported lossless rotation for a while, and Microsoft uses it if available, and will give you a warning if it is not. And nearly all digital cameras and scanners output files that fit these constraints. Trlkly, rather than just citing theory to make yourself sound smart, why not actually try it? Copy an image to a test folder, then rotate it and rotate it back, then compare it with the original. If you do you will find that "this is true", not false. And no, you don't get any warning. Here's an over/under comparison showing that the rotation CW then CCW using Explorer introduced degradation. But you don't have to get that fancy. Just looking at the file sizes gives it away: C:\TEMP>dir testbefore.jpg testafter.jpg Volume in drive C is C - NoelC4 SSD Volume Serial Number is 00ED-C11E Directory of C:\TEMP 05/20/2012 06:33 PM 1,804,792 TestBefore.jpg Directory of C:\TEMP 05/20/2012 06:34 PM 1,403,539 TestAfter.jpg 2 File(s) 3,208,331 bytes 0 Dir(s) 1,226,254,721,024 bytes free -Noel Detailed how-to in my eBook: In development: Configure The Windows 7 "To Work" Options Configure The Windows 8 "To Work" Options

Noel is correct. Using rotation in Explorer does degrade an image slightly. Now to the purpose of this post. I have tried everything that has been listed in this thread and the only thing that resets the thumbnail image is to open and save in Paint. I'm like laurah69 in that I deal in a lot of graphics as I design and develop websites. So this is an important issue for me. I use an older graphics program, PhotoImpact (mainly as I know it like the back of my hand and it works for me) but thumbnails are not updated. The strange thing is I can even save it as a new name and the same thumbnail is displayed. Weird! If I move the folder to my Windows Vista system, the thumbnails are regenerated and show correctly. However, if I copy the image back to my Windows 7, the old 'bad' thumbnail is still there. Very weird!! :( Honestly, I am totally frustrated that something which worked so great in previous versions of Windows was removed for Windows 7. This is another example of Microsoft shooting itself in the foot and we all know that they have done that before. I wish they would learn that if something works fine, leave it 'the hell' alone! Personally, I don't think anyone of great importance at Microsoft will ever see this post so I have 'no' expectations that this will ever be resolved. It's a pity. :( Just another ol' Hacker

At least some of the posters on here had thumbnails in the first place. Like many others, I have accumulated many thousands of photo files, arranged carefully in appropriate folders. However, mine sit on a server (Windows Server 2003 R2). Under XP, I can see which pic I want to click on it without hassle. Warm up the Win7 box, and all I see are icons. Thousands of identical green and blue sketches. Nothing in "Organize" makes any difference. Neither changing the view, nor resorting, make any difference either. Selecting All (Ctrl-A) looked like it was going to work - it updated the first SEVEN thumbnails, but then stopped. There are eight on the each row on my screen, and nearly a hundred rows in the folder. In another folder this gave me only five thumbnails. I tried deleting THUMBS.DB, assuming the XP format was confusing it, but Win7 refused to do anything better. Moving the files to another folder, then moving them back, just gave me the icons again. Manually selecting each file in turn gets the thumbnail updated, but this takes about a second per file - I have to wait for the preview to appear in the bottom pane. This method creates a fresh THUMBS.DB, by the way. All the boxes on my domain are fully patched. ALL THE BOXES ARE RUNNING MICROSOFT SOFTWARE. This is the bog-standard EXPLORER.EXE, with no strange extensions. There is NO third party software involved. Nothing is out of date. When I ask to see thumbnails, Windows ought to show me thumbnails. I don't think I am asking for anything wierd. I just want things to work the way they are claimed to.