Desktop or Explorer does not refresh automatically in Windows 10

The Windows Desktop or Windows File Explorer window or folder will automatically refresh itself when you make a change to its contents. This could be creating a new shortcut, creating or saving a new file or folder in it, and so on.

But at times, you may find that the desktop or the window may not auto-refresh, and to see the changes; you have to manually Refresh it, either by pressing F5 or via the context menu.

Explorer does not refresh automatically

If Windows 10 desktop is not refreshing automatically or auto-refresh does not work, and you need to manually refresh it, then you can follow these steps to try and fix the problem.

Open Registry Editor and navigate to the following registry key:

64-Bit users may have to look in:

Here right-click on CLSID and select Find to search for dontrefresh . If you find it, and if it has a value set to 1, change its value to 0.

You will probably find it at one of these locations depending on whether your Windows is 32-bit or Windows 64-bit:

If you do not see it, you will have to create the path \Instance\dontrefresh by right-clicking and selecting New > DWORD at each level as follows:

• Right-click > New > Key > Name it
• Right-click > New > Key > Name it Instance
• Right-click Instance > New > DWORD for 32-bit systems -OR- QWORD for 64-bit systems.
• Then again right-click this WORD, rename it to dontrefresh and give it a value 0.

This is known to have helped fix the problem in most cases.

If it does not, here are a few other suggestions:

1] Use ShellExView from Nirsoft and disable third-party shell extensions which may be obstructing the smooth functioning of Windows Explorer. This may be a trial-and-error method.

2] From the Task Manager, kill the explorer.exe process and then restart it again. Also, restore the default Explorer Settings. To do so, open Folder Options and under the General tab, press Restore Defaults. Click Apply and Exit.

3] Some have found that deleting the thumbnail cache and rebuilding the icon cache has helped them resolve the issue.

4] Reboot in Clean Boot State and try to troubleshoot the issue.

This problem appears to be quite common – so much so that there is even an acronym made for it: WEDR – Windows Explorer Doesn’t Refresh!

Microsoft has released some hotfixes to resolve such issues at KB960954 and KB823291. Please check IF they apply to your operating system and situation before you decide to download and apply them.

See this post if your Desktop icons load slowly at startup in Windows 10.

UPDATE: Please also see the comment by tralala/Truth101/Guest below.

TIP: Check this post if you find that your Recycle Bin does not refresh correctly.

Date: December 28, 2019 Tags: Desktop, Tips

Desktop has changed after Windows update

After a recent Windows update my Desktop had changed. It was like it was reset but certain icons were still there. My background had been changed and some icons gone. I previously asked this question and was told I might have been logged into a temporary account and I should do 4 restarts to fix the problem. I did this and it worked but now a couple weeks later it has happened again. I am not sure if there was an update done. This time the previous fix isn’t working. What can I do to correct this?

Edition Windows 10 Professional OS Build 10.0.19042.867 Serial number H4X59S2 Graphic card Intel(R) HD Graphics 620 Installed RAM 8 GB Version 2009 System type OSType64BitX64 Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7200U CPU @ 2.50GHz

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Hi Brian,
I am Sumit, an Independent Advisor here to assist you.

This happens often after a feature update. Somehow there is a problem with your profile which is the reason why Windows logs you into a temporary one. Your data should be there in C:/Users/ folder. Do not copy them over to temporary profile otherwise, it may be lost forever. Backup the files to an external drive if needed.

If you try to sign in to Windows 10 and receive the error message, «»We can’t sign in to your account»» or you see an action center notification saying “You’ve been signed in with a temporary profile,” Windows will create a temporary profile and sign you in to that one. (Note: Any settings or new files created within that temporary profile will be removed after you sign out, so it is important to try to resolve this issue, either by restarting your PC or with the following steps.) Here are some things to try to get signed back in to your Windows profile:

Important: Before doing anything, use an external storage device to save any work you’ve done since your last successful sign in. Any files you have created or changed while in the temporary profile will be lost when you sign out.

Restart your device in safe mode and sign in with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored.

Restart your device in normal mode and sign in again with your original profile. Check to see if your settings and files are restored. (You might need to restart your device more than once.).

If that doesn’t help, we would try to uninstall the update. Keep us posted.

Sumit
Available 6 PM — 8 AM PST

It is always good to include your PC Specs, make and model in the question

Never Call the Phone numbers received in Emails from the Microsoft Community

Windows desktop background changes by itself automatically

Sometimes, when you initially upgrade to Windows 10 or install any feature update of Windows 10, your desktop background settings may get messed up, and all the new modifications you make in order to fix them stay only until a reboot or a shutdown. This issue is caused by corrupt migration of the system files, damage caused to the registry files, issues with the syncing capabilities of Windows 10, etc.

Desktop background changes by itself on Windows 10

If your Desktop Wallpaper changes automatically by itself in Windows 10, here are a few things you need to look at to fix the problem.

1] Modify Desktop Background Slideshow settings

First of all, start by hitting the WIN + R keyboard combination or search for Run in the Cortana search box to launch the Run box.

Type powercfg.cpl and hit Enter. This will launch the Power Options window.

For your selected power plan, click on Change Plan Settings. This will open a new page.

Then click on Change advanced power settings.

This will launch a new window with a lot of power consumption options.

Expand the option that says Desktop Background Settings. Next, set the slideshow to be Disabled or Paused for both the scenarios: On Battery and Plugged in.

Click on OK and then reboot your PC for the changes to take an effect.

2] Disable Windows Sync settings

Start by right-clicking on an empty space and click on Personalize, or hit WINKEY + Ito launch settings. Navigate to Personalize menu.

Now, click on left side menu named as Themes.

Then, on the options, you get in the right panel, click on Sync your settings under the section of Related settings.

This will open a new section in the Settings app.

Inside there, turn off the button toggle that says Sync settings.

Reboot your PC for the changes to take an effect.

Now after the PC has done rebooting, change your desktop background to your desired one and check if this has fixed your issue.

3] Change the desktop background

Start by right-clicking on an empty space and click on Personalize, or hit WINKEY + Ito launch settings. Navigate to Personalize menu.

Now, click on the left side menu named as Background.

Then, on the right-side panel, click on the drop-down button labeled as Background and click on Picture.

Now, click on Browse and select the picture of your choice.

Now under the drop-down of Choose a fit, select the one that matches the resolution of your display.

Reboot your machine for the final changes to take place.

These are some of the common steps that help in fixing the issue of Desktop Background Changing Automatically on Windows 10.

Desktop Does Not Automatically Refresh When Moving/Renaming/Deleting Files & Folders in Windows 10

When I create a new folder on the desktop and give it a name, the new name does not take effect until I manually refresh the desktop. The same thing happens when I try to delete it.

This behavior also applies to new .txt files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, etc.

Here is a GIF of it happening to a folder:

8 Answers 8

Settings > Personalization > Themes > Change desktop icons > Restore default

If it cannot solve your issue, please also try to reset folder views:

Also go to HKCR\CLSID\\Instance and change DWORD value DontRefresh from 1 (on) to 0 (off).

1. Settings > Personalization > Themes > Change desktop icons > Restore default
2. Uncheck Allow themes to change desktop icons > Apply > OK

If this does not work:

1. Restore default > check Allow again > Apply > OK
2. Go back in and Restore default > uncheck Allow again > Apply > OK

Unsure why I had to do this more than once, but it works now.

Haven’t tried this solution for your specific problem, but I’d consider it worth trying if I came up against your set of symptoms:

Save the following as a .bat file:

Save and close all files and programs, then run (it doesn’t require admin).

When it completes restart your computer.

This script is for resetting desktop icon issues in Windows 10. Any shortcuts on your desktop should return to a default position to the upper-left of the primary screen.

I had a samba share to a network printer scan folder pinned in the quick access folder. After trying all other solutions including resetting my Windows, this worked! Look to see if you have any shortcuts to poor performing network locations.

1. Go to Folder Options
2. Untick the two Quick Access options within the General tab under Privacy
3. Click Clear File Explorer History

It took me forever to find out the fix to this issue, and I was tempted to just reset my whole PC, with the only thing stopping me being a slow connection. Thank you, Joan, for your answer which give me an idea of how to fix it.

Here’s how I finally got it:

After I went to Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop Icon Settings, I received a message saying something like You do not have the permission to access this file and rundll32.exe was listed in the top bar.

I went to C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe and followed this procedure:

• Right-click rundll32.exe > select Properties > Security tab > Advanced.
• Click «Change», beside the «Owner» line of text, and change this to your user name.
• To close all the security and properties tabs: Apply > Accept everything > OK
• Right-click rundll32.exe > Properties > Security > Advanced > Enable inheritance
• Apply > accept everything > OK
• Once out of the Security and Properties tabs, close Explorer window > Restart PC

Upon restart, your auto-update should be working again.

Desktop has disappeared in Windows 10

When I first upgraded to Windows 10 from 8.1, everything was working beautifully. After a day my desktop has disappeared. Instead, I only have the start screen. Also, when running programs like Chrome that would normally be in desktop, I can not change their size or run multiple programs side by side, something that is essential for my job.

Any ideas on fixing this? I prefer to see my traditional desktop and start menu, which was supposed to be a benefit of Windows 10.

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Thank you bro, it is working.

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I don’t have ANY options for settings on my desktop, which has once again disappeared. I have a HUGE taskbar—about 2″ on my 10″ notebook (I always set taskbar to auto-hide but even that’s not working so I can’t see the entire screen), but no icons on desktop, can’t scroll in from left or right to get to settings or any apps. I can use the tiny icon for IE and MS Store and get online, but still can’t find a way to retrieve my desktop. ARRGHH! I want to go back to Win 8 but can’t even get to System Restore or Refresh. The danged thing was working fine this morning, turned it off for a couple of hours then back on and voila! NO DESKTOP.

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Go to settings and take it out of the «Tablet Mode».

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I don’t have ANY options for settings on my desktop, which has once again disappeared. I have a HUGE taskbar—about 2″ on my 10″ notebook (I always set taskbar to auto-hide but even that’s not working so I can’t see the entire screen), but no icons on desktop, can’t scroll in from left or right to get to settings or any apps. I can use the tiny icon for IE and MS Store and get online, but still can’t find a way to retrieve my desktop. ARRGHH! I want to go back to Win 8 but can’t even get to System Restore or Refresh. The danged thing was working fine this morning, turned it off for a couple of hours then back on and voila! NO DESKTOP.

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I have exactly the same problem one minute it was fine and a hour later i was pulling my hair out. can an ybody help please.

I don’t have ANY options for settings on my desktop, which has once again disappeared. I have a HUGE taskbar—about 2″ on my 10″ notebook (I always set taskbar to auto-hide but even that’s not working so I can’t see the entire screen), but no icons on desktop, can’t scroll in from left or right to get to settings or any apps. I can use the tiny icon for IE and MS Store and get online, but still can’t find a way to retrieve my desktop. ARRGHH! I want to go back to Win 8 but can’t even get to System Restore or Refresh. The danged thing was working fine this morning, turned it off for a couple of hours then back on and voila! NO DESKTOP.