my photographas all show as an icon and they can't be opened to show a photograph

Question

my photographas all show as an icon and they can't be opened to show a photograph

Kurt Van Dahm 20

My photos all show as icons and they cannot be unlocked. The show photographs not icons box is unchecked and to my knowledge was never checked to on position. I have tried all the posted fixes. Some of the icons have a small brown file box like symbol at the lower left area.

I have some photos added to the files recently that are OK and show as photographs.

I have OneDrive active.

This is recent - sometime in the last 2 to 3 days.

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Answer accepted by question author

Jade Ng 16,395 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Kurt Van Dahm,

Good day. Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum!

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you’ve experienced. I truly appreciate your patience during this time and thank you for bearing with us.

Regarding your issue, may I kindly ask a few questions so I can understand your issue better:

Are there any specific error messages you're seeing?
Does this issue only occur with photos in local OneDrive folder or with all photos in File Explorer? Do you encounter similar issues on the web?
Are other users of the organization experiencing this issue?
Please take a screenshot of the issue you're experiencing so I can better assist you.

In the meantime, please kindly try the troubleshooting steps below:

1.Disable the setting in File Explorer:

Press Windows + R keys, type control folders, and press Enter.
In the File Explorer Options window, click the View tab.

Untitled

Clear the checkbox for Always show icons, never thumbnails.

2.Clean the Thumbnail cache:

Press Windows + R keys, type cleanmgr, and press Enter.
In the Disk Cleanup dialog box, select the drive you want to clean and click OK.
Check the Thumbnails option and click OK to proceed with the cleanup.

Untitled

Note: Please note that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

Kindly correct me if I'm misunderstanding. Your understanding and co-operation are highly appreciated. I am looking forward to your response!

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Jade Ng 16,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-08T04:11:35.2266667+00:00

Dear @Kurt Van Dahm,

I just wanted to check in and see if you have any updates or additional information you’d like to share regarding your situation. If there's anything new or if you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Looking forward to hearing from you!
Kurt Van Dahm 20 Reputation points

2026-01-08T17:18:52.6166667+00:00

This didn't fix the problem
Jade Ng 16,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-09T07:01:49.6566667+00:00

Dear @Kurt Van Dahm,

Thank you for your update!

In this case, the best way to further troubleshoot it is to report it to the related team. I sincerely recommend you try to create a support ticket from Microsoft 365 Admin Center>Support>New Service Request. You can raise support ticket from: https://admin.microsoft.com/Adminportal/Home?#/support/requests

The support team over there has higher permission than us to investigate the issue from background, they have more resource and correct escalation channel in handling this kind of issues. This would be a more efficient way in handling the case for you.

For reference:  Get support | Microsoft Docs     

I will also feedback this situation on our side. Please accept my sincere apologies for not being able to resolve the problem and for redirecting you to the related development team. I regret any inconvenience this may cause. The fix to your concern can be identified through the background logs, and I suggest you raise a support ticket from the Office 365 admin center, where the related team will investigate the problem further by collecting the necessary background logs.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. I appreciate your patience and understanding and thank you for your time and cooperation.

Sorry for the inconvenience again. Your patience and understanding are highly appreciated. Hope you stay safe and healthy.
Kurt Van Dahm 20 Reputation points

2026-01-09T19:14:55.6033333+00:00

I got the problem resolved by asking a friend who does website builds professionally for help and he got it fixed for me remotely.
Jade Ng 16,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-12T01:48:39.6766667+00:00

Dear @Kurt Van Dahm,

Thank you for your update!

I am delighted to hear that your issue has been successfully resolved, and I am pleased to have been able to assist you. Should you encounter any further concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, or feel free to create a new post so that other moderators can provide support.Once again, thank you very much for your valuable time and your cooperation.

2 additional answers

Your answer

Jade Ng 16,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-08T04:11:35.2266667+00:00

Dear @Kurt Van Dahm,

I just wanted to check in and see if you have any updates or additional information you’d like to share regarding your situation. If there's anything new or if you need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Looking forward to hearing from you!
Kurt Van Dahm 20 Reputation points

2026-01-08T17:18:52.6166667+00:00

This didn't fix the problem
Jade Ng 16,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-09T07:01:49.6566667+00:00

Dear @Kurt Van Dahm,

Thank you for your update!

In this case, the best way to further troubleshoot it is to report it to the related team. I sincerely recommend you try to create a support ticket from Microsoft 365 Admin Center>Support>New Service Request. You can raise support ticket from: https://admin.microsoft.com/Adminportal/Home?#/support/requests

The support team over there has higher permission than us to investigate the issue from background, they have more resource and correct escalation channel in handling this kind of issues. This would be a more efficient way in handling the case for you.

For reference:  Get support | Microsoft Docs     

I will also feedback this situation on our side. Please accept my sincere apologies for not being able to resolve the problem and for redirecting you to the related development team. I regret any inconvenience this may cause. The fix to your concern can be identified through the background logs, and I suggest you raise a support ticket from the Office 365 admin center, where the related team will investigate the problem further by collecting the necessary background logs.

Once again, I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. I appreciate your patience and understanding and thank you for your time and cooperation.

Sorry for the inconvenience again. Your patience and understanding are highly appreciated. Hope you stay safe and healthy.
Kurt Van Dahm 20 Reputation points

2026-01-09T19:14:55.6033333+00:00

I got the problem resolved by asking a friend who does website builds professionally for help and he got it fixed for me remotely.
Jade Ng 16,395 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-12T01:48:39.6766667+00:00

Dear @Kurt Van Dahm,

Thank you for your update!

I am delighted to hear that your issue has been successfully resolved, and I am pleased to have been able to assist you. Should you encounter any further concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me, or feel free to create a new post so that other moderators can provide support.Once again, thank you very much for your valuable time and your cooperation.

Answer 1

Kurt Van Dahm 20

After my friend helped everything works correctly.

Carol Wildfong 0 Reputation points

2026-01-12T21:55:24.2366667+00:00

Im having the same issue. Can your friend advise what they did so i can mine fixed too :) thanks
Kurt Van Dahm 20 Reputation points

2026-01-12T22:02:32.0933333+00:00

Sorry, but he is out of time for a vacation, I will try to remember to ask him.

Answer 2

Kurt Van Dahm 20

None of the suggested fixes worked. I have tried just about every cure posted on YouTube also. This seems to be something that might need somebody a lot more knowledgeable than I am to follow the suggested fixes. A couple mentioned going real deep into the systems - i am afraid of doing more harm than good. Am I being too cautious?

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