Fix: Missing or Incorrect Icons Showing up in the Windows UI (Shell)

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There are several third-party programs available that can customize or change the shell icons, such as folders, Recycle Bin, etc. The default icons are overridden by adding necessary entries to the registry. After installing and uninstalling a theme or third-party program, various icons in the user interface may go missing or show up with incorrect or generic icons.

Some problems (such as missing icons, or icon placeholders showing up) may manifest after the user uninstalls the third-party icon customization program.

Missing Recycle Bin icon in the Delete File confirmation dialog
Folders showing up with “unknown” icons in Open/Save As dialog boxes

This article explains how to fix missing shell icons in various places in the Windows shell, by clearing out the remnant icon override entries in the Windows registry.Read more

How to Find Which Program Is Making Sound in the Background

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volume mixer - program name

Every now and then, my PC located in the bedroom emanated a sound at random intervals. This was caused by an application playing a short media file. And I noticed it twice when entering the bedroom, which I thought was a mere coincidence, but wasn’t. I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Control Panels → Sounds was the first place I checked. It was not the Sound Scheme as it was already set to “No Sounds”.

I then opened the Volume Mixer to find out the program responsible for playing the unidentified music on my computer. But when I looked through the Volume Mixer, the 3rd column said: “Name Not Available”. Randomly, the music just popped right up into the speakers. It lasted for a few seconds.

Find which program is playing random music in the background

With almost a dozen applications running and I didn’t want to disturb them, I fired up the excellent Process Monitor right away and configured the filters so that any entry with “.wav” in the Path is captured.

It may not necessarily be a .wav file (it could be .mp3 or any audio file type, as well), but I had a suspicion that it could be, in this case. So I included “.wav“, to start with.Read more

[Fix] Compressed (Zipped) Folder Access Denied Error “Unable to Complete the Operation”

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temp variable set - zip folder access denied

When you try to create a Compressed (zipped) folder in Windows, the error “Unable to complete the operation. Access is denied” may occur and the zip file is not created.

Compressed (Zipped) Folder Access Denied error occurs if the user %TEMP% variable isn’t properly set, or the user has no “write” access to their %TEMP% folder.

Instructions in this article apply to all versions of Windows, including Windows 10/11.

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Wrong icon for file type; how to refresh the icons quickly

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incorrect icon shown for a file type in windows

Summary: Incorrect icon shown for a file type, desktop shortcut, or taskbar icons in Windows. This article tells you how to fix it.

Recently I received a query wherein the user has installed Foxit Reader. Later, he set accidentally associated the .zip file type with Foxit Reader via the Open with dialog. They got the association problem straightened out by running the .zip association fix from the File association fixes page.

However, the .zip file type was still showing the Foxit Reader icon, although the association settings were correct.

Whenever the file association settings are changed or a new association is created via the registry or script, the system might not be aware of the change. Programs use the SHChangeNotify API call specifying the SHCNE_ASSOCCHANGED event, in order to refresh the icons without requiring a reboot.

This article explains the different ways to quickly refresh the icons in Windows 7, 8, and 10 without rebuilding the Windows icon cache or restarting Windows.Read more

Fix Devices and Printers Folder is Completely Blank in Windows 7

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When you open Devices and Printers applet, it may show up as an empty folder although the devices are correctly connected and their drivers are intact. This can be due to several reasons, and the possible causes (with appropriate fixes) are discussed in this post.

We’ve observed that Devices and Printers folder can appear blank if one of these is true:

  • Print Spooler Service is not running
  • Bluetooth Support Service is not running
  • Missing DLL registrations.

Use these steps to resolve the problem.Read more

Protocol HTTP Does Not Have a Registered Program When Opening Internet Shortcuts

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http protocol fix default browser

When you double-click an internet shortcut (.URL) file or click on a hyperlink in your mail client, you may encounter the error Unable to open this Internet Shortcut. The protocol “http” does not have a registered program. This is akin to saying “hey! you haven’t configured a web browser as the default“. Now you know where to look for the solution… the “Default Programs” applet.

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How to Determine the Parent Process of a Running Process in Windows?

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You may have come across situations where a continuous hard disk activity taking place although your system being in an idle state. If you open Task Manager out of curiosity, you may find several processes starting and exiting of their own without you doing anything. It could be a scheduled backup task, third-party system maintenance program or anything that could be churning your hard disk. It could be even a Malware. But which application or process launches them?Read more