Windows

When you use a custom icon (.ico) file to customize the Recycle Bin Empty & Full icons manually or via a desktop theme, the Recycle Bin icon may not update or refresh correctly when emptying the Recycle Bin or when you add items to it. In some cases, the issue may occur even if you’re using the Windows default icons for the Recycle Bin.

There are two variations of the problem:

• When using the Windows default icons for the Recycle Bin, Recycle Bin would either be stuck on the empty icon or the full icon, but the icon updates correctly when you press the F5 button on the keyboard.
• Another variation is that the Recycle Bin icon does not refresh automatically only when using custom icon files for Recycle Bin (Full) and Recycle Bin (Empty).

This post mentions the solution for the Recycle Bin icon refresh problem for all versions of Windows, including Windows 10/11.Read more

When you open File Explorer and double-click a folder, it may open a new explorer window rather than showing the folder contents in the existing window.

This issue may happen although the “Open each folder in the same window” setting is selected in Control Panel → Folder Options.

Cause

Folders may always open in a new window due to the wrong folder association settings in the registry. For example, the (default) registry value data in the following key may be incorrect set as “opennewwindow”

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell

Or, an unwanted registry value named LaunchExplorerFlags may be present in the following registry location:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open

If the LaunchExplorerFlags value exists and its data is a non-zero value (i.e., not equal to 0x0), then this value overrides the “Open each folder in the same window” setting. Due to the incorrect registry setting, the default double-click action folders is set to “Open in new window”.

Another possible cause is that the “DelegateExecute” registry value may be missing in the above location.

These incorrect registry settings force Windows to open folders in a new window when you double-click on them. Let’s see how to fix this problem.

The fixes #1 and #2 below apply to all versions of Windows, including Windows 11.Read more

Aero Peek is feature which allows you to temporarily view the desktop without having to minimize all the open windows. You can temporarily preview the desktop by moving the mouse pointer over the Show desktop button near the taskbar notification area.

The default hover delay is 1 second. If this time is too short for you, you can delay it furthermore to avoid accidental preview of the desktop. This can be done using a registry edit discussed in this article.Read more