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What are these brown box icons in left bottom corner of my files??

Anonymous
2022-03-07T21:29:56+00:00

Does anyone know where these small brown box icons came from and what they mean?? I suddenly have these little brown icons (looks like a small file box) on most of my files, Word, pdf, photos, etc. I've googled the daylights out of this and apparently lots of folks have the same question but no one has an answer. I hasn't affected my ability to open files but it's really annoying! (see pic below) Does it have something to do with my upgrade to Windows 11?

Thanks!

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-04-23T00:35:08+00:00

    Had this exact same issue today. The resolution was quick no reinstall. I'm on Win11, so perhaps that was a plus in this scenario. Here's the fix that worked for me:

    1. Open windows explorer <windows-key + e>
    2. If you're using OneDrive you should see something like "OneDrive - Personal" within the left-hand pane. If so, Right-Click to access the context-menu.
    3. You should see the menu-item: "Always keep on this device", select this.
    4. Recheck your desktop; no more brown boxes, yay!

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  1. Anonymous
    2022-03-08T01:43:36+00:00

    Hi JoeBrock1-

    I'm Kevin B. Windows user like you. I do apologize for the inconvenience, let me help you sort things out.

    Are you using OneDrive? If so, that icon is for OneDrive Files on Demand.

    Kindly try to log out and log back in to your OneDrive and see if it will address the concern.

    If the issue persists, go to settings > apps > apps and feature archive apps > turn off that feature and see if the box will disappear.

    Please let me know what will happen. Hope this will help and have a blessed day!

    Thanks,

    Kevin B.

    Independent Advisor

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2022-06-08T00:00:12+00:00

    Just right click the mouse and click on "Refresh". They will go back to what they were.

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-04-09T22:41:09+00:00

    I think I got it! I had the same issue with the brown box in the corner and kept getting an error message when I tried to open the file. Here is what I did:

    Settings>system>one drive>network. Then a message popped up saying it was shut off. Turned it on for private network sharing and all of the boxes turned into green check marks and I am now able to open them! Hope this helps!

    50+ people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2022-03-08T22:23:07+00:00

    Thanks but I finally had to completely uninstall One Drive. That fixed the problem.

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
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