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Ah back again for a question that has plagued me for years, since windows xp, vista, and now windows 8. I use my desktop for everything, that's where I save files, created new folders, rename new folders, I do a lot on my desktop. Its like the central hub for sorting my files before I put them in other folders. Now I must be exceeding a limit over time because with every windows operating system I've had the same issue occurs, my desktop stops refreshing if a new file is placed there by a program. Say I save a new file with photoshop to my desktop, it doesn't show up until I manually refresh. Also it seems like it randomly occurs, just today my desktop was working fine, I shut it off come back later and now its not refreshing, how is that possible?
The only way I've found to somewhat fix it is rebuilding my icon cache, but its only temporary. Which is why i am asking again and again, I still haven't seen a good explanation on why this happens or a good way to fix it.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Also could someone explain why this happens first, I just read though 4 of basically the same issues posted and people are giving suggestions without any explanations. This problem is not going to get fixed unless someone knows exactly how it happens. A file gets placed on the desktop, it doesn't appear until a manual refresh.
Hi Steve,
Thank you for posting your query in Microsoft Community.
In Windows Explorer/desktop, when you create a new file, paste a file, or delete a file, the user interface may not update automatically. As a result, the list of files that appears in the current folder may not be up to date. This behavior occurs most frequently when the target folder is on a DFS share or is a special folder that must be redirected. For example, the My Documents folder is redirected to \myserver\myshare. This behavior may also occur when the redirected folder is targeted to a Netware server. Always, you can successfully refresh the Explorer window when you press F5.
I would suggest you to install all the pending Windows Updates including optional updates. Along with updates, let's try the following methods and check if the issue still persists.
Method 1: I would suggest you to follow these steps and run the System Maintenance troubleshooter:
a. Press Windows key + X and open Control Panel.
b. Click on Troubleshooting.
c. Click View all on the left pane of the screen.
d. In the list of options, click on System Maintenance.
e. Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions.
Method 2: Start computer in safe mode and perform clean boot to avoid any third party software conflict.
Step 1:There are two ways you can start the computer in safe mode
(i) Using Windows system configuration tool
a. Press Windows key + Rto pull up the Run dialog box and type msconfig.exe. This will launch the System Configuration Utility.
b. In the Utility, click the Boot tab and under Boot options, check the Safe boot box. Hit OK when done.
c. You will be asked to reboot your computer. Whether you do it right there and then or later, the next boot will put your machine into Safe Mode on Windows 8.1.
(ii) With Shift + Restart
a. When you hit the power button in Windows 8.1 (through Charms Bar), hold down the Shift key when clicking the Restart button.
b. The next screen will present you with three options. Click Troubleshoot.
c. Next, hit Advanced options followed by Windows Startup Settings from the next screen.
d. Your PC will now be rebooted to enable the advanced parameters, which include Safe Mode as well. Once it restarts, you’ll get nine options whereby the following commands apply:
Step 2: Perform clean boot to avoid any third party software conflict
Putting your system in Clean Boot state helps in identifying if any third party applications or startup items are causing the issue. You need to follow the steps from the article mentioned below to perform a Clean Boot.
**How to perform a clean boot in Windows**
Note: Refer "How to reset the computer to start normally after clean boot troubleshooting" to reset the computer to start as normal after troubleshooting.
Method 3: Run system file checker tool to repair missing/corrupted system files
System File Checker checks for damaged or replaced system files, and then prompts you to replace any files that do not match the original system files. The tool is a utility in Windows that allows users to scan for corruptions in Windows system files and restore corrupted files.
To run system file checker tool:
Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search. Or, if you are using a mouse, point to the lower-right corner of the screen, and then click Search. Type Command Prompt in the Search box, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
sfc /scannow
Note: Do not close this Command Prompt window until the verification is 100% complete. The scan results will be shown after this process is finished.
Hope this information is helpful. Please feel free to reply in case you face any other issues with Windows in future.
