How to Clear Windows Thumbnail Cache in Windows 11

Windows saves small preview images of your files so they open faster. This collection of previews is called the thumbnail cache. Sometimes, these files get damaged. This can make your icons look blurry or wrong. Resetting the cache forces Windows to recreate these previews from scratch.

Why do this? If your images or folders look strange, refreshing this data often fixes the display glitch.

What happens when done? Windows will delete the old, broken files and build fresh, clear previews as you browse your folders.

How to clear your thumbnail cache

You can use the built-in Disk Cleanup tool to reset these files easily.

1. Open your File Explorer and click on This PC.
2. Right-click on your Local Disk (C:) drive.
3. Select Properties from the menu.

On the Properties window, stay on the General tab. Click the Disk Cleanup button.

Note: This step requires administrative privileges to perform on system drives.

Find the list of files to remove. Check the box labeled Thumbnails. Click OK to clear and reset your database.

If you prefer using a command-line approach, you can run this command in the terminal (requires admin privileges):

del /f /s /q %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db

Summary

The thumbnail cache helps your computer show file previews quickly. When this cache breaks, your icons might look distorted. By using the Disk Cleanup tool or the command line, you can delete these corrupted files. Windows will then automatically rebuild them, which usually fixes the display problems you were seeing.