If your Desktop icons are slow to load in Windows 10/8/7, then these suggestions will help you fix the slow startup and boot problems. This could result because of the presence of many startup programs, a corrupted User Profile or Icon Cache file, etc.
Desktop icons slow to load
1] Manage Startup programs
Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager and switch to the Startup tab. Here you can disable the startup programs which may be making your Desktop slow to load.
You may use msconfig in Windows 8/7 or Task Manager in Windows 10 to manage startup programs. You can also delay Startup Programs or control the order in which they load when Windows boots. Using a freeware like WinPatrol can make managing startup programs easier.
2] User profile corruption
Maybe your User profile has been corrupted. Log in as some other user and see.
3] Icon Cache file may be corrupted
It is quite possible that your Icon Cache file may be corrupted. Run our Thumbnail & icon cache rebuilder for Windows 10. If it works the first time and then on subsequent restarts, your problem re-appears, rebuild the Icon Cache manually and see if that helps.
If these Hidden files exist, delete them too:
- C:UsersUsernameAppDataLocalIconCache.db
- C:UsersUsernameAppDataLocalIconCache.db
4] Remove pre-installed Crapware
Remove any crapware which may have come pre-installed on your new Windows PC, as many a time it’s this crapware that causes a machine to crawl.
5] Troubleshoot in Clean Boot State
Perform a Clean Boot and see if the problem continues. You need to identify what could be causing your problem – and Clean Boot State is the best way to go. When you start the computer in clean boot, the computer starts by using a pre-selected minimal set of drivers and startup programs, and because the computer starts with a minimal set of drivers, some programs may not work as you expected.
Clean-Boot troubleshooting is designed to isolate a performance problem. To perform clean-boot troubleshooting, you must take a number of actions, and then restart the computer after each action. You may need to manually disable one item after another to try and pinpoint the one that is causing the problem. Once you have identified the offender, you can consider removing or disabling it.
This post has some tips on how you can make Windows Start, Run, Shutdown faster.
Hope something helps.