File icons wrong

Hello,
I have a new "glitch" with my XP Home. I installed MS Office XP and all my HTM and HTML icons changed to a "generic" file type icon. I went to Folder Options > File Types > scrolled down to the HTM & HTML extensions and changed them to the registered program that I use for them and the icon there (under file types) changed ok to the HTML program that I use, but nowhere in any of the main C drive folders did any of them change back to the way they were before I installed Office XP? Any ideas here?
Thanks again--Gene

 

Pete,
Thanks for the reply. I tried that and no such luck. Can not seem to get them back. You would think that a MS product would not do this, but then again they are holding all the marbles.
Gene

 

Open up the program you want to be associated with them and reinable or refresh the opton setting for associations.

Which program is it?

 

\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\
where <username> is however you are logged on.

Hidden file IconCache.db (same as teh file shelliconcache in earlier OS versions - located somewhere in System32). Unhide it, delete it, log off and back on to use a good copy. I think you'll be fine then. If not, do the same to the one in Windows\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\ account too.

BTW - TweakUI has been known to cause corruption of shelliconcache and IconCache.db.

 

Tried both suggestions to no avail.
Newt--where is: Windows\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\
I have no such place.
Thanks--Gene

 

Is it the IE icon your trying to get back?

Maybe the old shift rightclick "Open_With" [make sure the "always open with etc" box is checked] trick will do it:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q307/8/59.asp

Got an Htm/html association fix here:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm

 

Well, none of those worked either--although the html association fix file did change the icon to a different MS icon almost the same one as before.
Gene

 

Have you tried something as simple as a shutdown and restart?

 

I have a similar problem on my XP Home machine with .jpg files. I installed Office XP and now no matter how I change the file association, the icon stays the same (MS Editor). I just want it to go back to being a small thumbnail of the actual image. I'll give Tweakui a try...

 

To Static

Restore thumbnail view. See fix #17 on the right side:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

It's worth a shot.

 

Have done the restart--log off--deleted icon caches--number 17 also--all to no avail. This all started after Office XP was loaded.
Gene

 

?????Perhaps there is a bug in officexp.

I did pick up some small mention of an icon problem in combination with high resolution color on a ??toolbar??, I think. Maybe we're focusing on an icon association problem when this may be a bug with Software "OfficeXP ".

I'll go a snoopin'....

By the way that fix # 17 was for the poster named Static who is having a thumbnail/jpg view problem. It'll do you no harm but it won't help your icon problem either. Sorry about that.

=============
Once again...is it the IE [blue on paper symbol] icon you want. Have you tried an [toss up] IE repair? An office repair? Tried changing the size of your icons, lowering/raising color resolution [display setting]?

 

Well I tried to change the icons on my laptop and it does the same thing only it has the MS icon blue "e" instead of the generic file type icon, and they won't change either. I have set both computers to open the HTM and HTML files with my HTML editor and that part work just fine when double clicking on any HTM or HTML file it opens my HTML editor ok, but the file icons are just wrong. Like I said before in the tools > folder options > view file types the correct icon and program display ok, but not on the actual HTM or HTML files themselves--weird.
Gene

 

Gene - Yikes. You are surely having a struggle with this fool thing.

You should have an Administrator folder in %systemroot%\Windows. It should contain the other sub folders and if you haven't deleted it, there should be a copy of the IconCache.db in there.

But if deleting the one from your user profile didn't fix things, the administrator copy may not either. Still and all - worth a try along with a couple other "can't hurt, may help" steps.

Get a copy of Agent Ransack (a much better search engine than the built-in one) and do a search for IconCache. Delete all copies it finds.

Then do start~run~cmd and from a command prompt
sfc /scannow and when that finishes
chkdsk /f and answer Y(es) when it fails and asks about doing it at next boot.
exit and then reboot.

 

Newt--thanks for trying to help me, but this is a tough one. I did exactly what you said to do and you guessed it--no change whatsoever.
Gene

PS--Agent Ransack shows no IconChache.db now anywhere on my computer either.

 

I noticed on my own computer that most htm[L] icons are plain IE while a few here and there are IE plain with small super imposed word, excel and powerpoint icons floating over the top in the left hand corner. This makes me believe that it was the office install that upset the apple cart. I know Office comes with it's own web authoring/scripting tools. I'm assuming something in the registry is amiss. No way of knowing now.

Experimentally you could try uninstalling your editor, do an Office Repair and see if the problem clears up. Then you may choose to reinstall your editor.

Could also unistall some of Officexp components pertaining to the same. I haven't tried this but I think it allows you to uninstall "pick and choose ". Personally I have always pared it down before hand.

Or just wait it out and see if this becomes one of those things that mysteriously fixes its self.

===============
Did you try changing the icon size as suggested earlier? Theory being that this forces an iconcache file refresh. I was just trying to give these guys a little kick in the booty.

 

Have tried every suggestion posted--and nothing has worked yet.
Thanks for all the help--will just have to live with it I guess.
Gene

 

If you mean the little icons in IE Favorites, XP eats them, because they are stored in temp files. You can use FavOrg from PC Utilities to restore some of them (Daizy pointed me there awhile back), but that will only work for some webpages. If you mean the icons on the Start Menu, I have learned to live with it. Every time I install Office, I lose most-not all- and none of the M$ ones-of the icons in the start menu. I have never figured out a way to get them back, and I have tried all the fixes that have been suggested above. Sorry I can't be more help.
Johanna