Onedrive thumbnails all of a sudden don't show anymore

Question

My Ondrive folder today stopped showing thumbnail previews for my photos and videos. I'm not exactly sure when it happened but last time I was in that folder might have been 2-3 days ago and it was fine. Today each file just shows the video or photo icon and not a thumbnail of the image or video like it used to. Did I accidently change some setting? I have tried closing file explorer in task manager and have restarted/shut down my PC a few times since this started and nothing has fixed the problem. My Onedrive is not on C drive. It has always been on another hard drive I have in my PC.

Answer 1

The issue of thumbnails not showing in your OneDrive folder could be related to a few different factors. Here are some potential reasons and solutions:

1. File Thumbnails and Previews: If you're syncing files from SharePoint on-premises, thumbnails may not appear in File Explorer for those files. If you have enabled Files On-Demand, online-only files won't display thumbnails until they are downloaded.
2. Windows Search Index: Sometimes, the Windows Search index may have an incorrect cached status, which can affect how files are displayed in File Explorer. You can try disabling the Windows Search service temporarily to see if that resolves the issue:
   • Open the Services application by searching for "Services" in the Start menu.
   • Find "Windows Search," double-click it, set the Startup type to "Disabled," and stop the service.
3. Hidden or Temporary Files: Check if there are hidden or temporary files in your OneDrive folder that might be affecting the thumbnail display. You can show hidden files in File Explorer and remove any unnecessary ones.
4. File Explorer Settings: Ensure that your File Explorer settings are configured to show thumbnails instead of icons. You can check this by going to the View menu in File Explorer and selecting "Options," then ensuring that the option to always show icons, never thumbnails is unchecked.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, it may be worth checking for updates to your OneDrive app or Windows operating system, as updates can sometimes fix bugs related to file display.

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References:

• Configure syncing with the new OneDrive sync app
• The OneDrive sync status icon incorrectly shows "syncing" in File Explorer

Answer 2

Hi,

If thumbnails aren’t showing in OneDrive, it’s usually due to Windows settings, cache issues, or outdated software.

 

The quickest fix is to:

Uncheck “Always show icons, never thumbnails” in File Explorer settings.

Clear thumbnail cache using Disk Cleanup.

Restart or reset OneDrive and make sure Windows and OneDrive are up to date.

If these steps don’t work, unlink and re-link your account

 

I hope this helps!