Have you ever encountered a problem with thumbnails not showing in Windows 11? Thumbnails are thumbnails that show a preview of a file or folder on your computer. Thumbnails are very useful to help you recognize and organize your files or folders easily. However, sometimes thumbnails don’t appear in Windows 11, and you only see generic file or folder-type icons. This can be very irritating and reduce your productivity.
There are several reasons thumbnails are not showing up in Windows 11, such as incorrect system settings, corrupted thumbnail cache, graphics drivers not updating, or compatibility issues. Fortunately, there are several ways to work around this problem and make thumbnails reappear in Windows 11. In this article, we will discuss some of the most effective and easy ways to fix thumbnails not showing up in Windows 11. Follow these steps to resolve your issue:
1. Enable Thumbnails in Windows 11
The first step you have to do is check if thumbnails are enabled in Windows 11. If thumbnails are not enabled, then you will not see thumbnails on your computer. To enable thumbnails in Windows 11, follow these steps:
- Open File Explorer and click on the three-dot button at the top.
- Click on Options from the menu that appears.
- In the Folder Options window that appears, click on the View tab.
- Under the Advanced settings section, uncheck the Always show icons, never thumbnails, and Show icons instead of thumbnails options.
- Click on the Apply and OK to save changes.
Once you enable thumbnails in Windows 11, see thumbnails appear on your computer. If not, try the next way.
2. Clear Thumbnail Cache in Windows 11
The thumbnails cache is the place where Windows 11 stores pre-made thumbnails to speed up the loading process. However, the thumbnail cache can be corrupted or outdated, and cause thumbnails not to appear in Windows 11. To clear the thumbnail cache in Windows 11, follow these steps:
- Open File Explorer and click on the three-dot button at the top.
- Click on Options from the menu that appears.
- In the Folder Options window that appears, click on the General tab.
- Under the Privacy section, click on the Clear button next to Clear File Explorer history.
- Click on the Apply and OK to save changes.
- Close all open File Explorer windows and reopen them.
- You can also clear the thumbnail cache by using Disk Cleanup. To do so, click on the Start button and type Disk Cleanup. Select Disk Cleanup from the search results.
- In the Disk Cleanup window that appears, select the drive you want to clean and click on OK.
- In the next Disk Cleanup window, check the Thumbnails option under the Files to delete section.
- Click on OK and Delete Files to confirm.
Once you clear the thumbnail cache in Windows 11, see thumbnails appear on your computer. If not, try the next way.
3. Update Graphics Driver in Windows 11
A graphics driver is software that controls how your graphics card interacts with your operating system. Graphics drivers that are not updated or corrupted can cause thumbnails not to appear in Windows 11. To update the graphics driver in Windows 11, follow these steps:
- Click on the Start button and type Device Manager. Select Device Manager from the search results.
- In the Device Manager window that appears, expand the Display adapters category and right-click on your graphics card. Select Update driver from the menu that appears.
- In the Update driver window that appears, select Search automatically for updated driver software option.
- Wait until Windows 11 searches for and installs the latest graphics driver for your graphics card. If there is an updated graphics driver available, Windows 11 will download and install it automatically. Otherwise, you will see the message The best drivers for your device are already installed.
- After you update the graphics driver in Windows 11, you should see thumbnails appear on your computer. If not, try the next way.