How to fix a blurry or oversized desktop icons issue in Windows
Aug 02, 2025 am 12:50 AMAdjust display scaling settings by changing the scale percentage in Display settings and signing out to apply; 2. Rebuild the icon cache by deleting iconcache.db after restarting Windows Explorer or booting into Safe Mode if needed; 3. Manually adjust desktop icon size via View options and fine-tune spacing through registry edits for IconSpacing and IconVerticalSpacing with caution; 4. Update or reinstall graphics drivers via Device Manager or download the latest version from the GPU manufacturer’s website; 5. Check for and install Windows updates to resolve underlying DPI and scaling bugs, as combining proper scaling, cache rebuilding, and updated drivers typically fixes blurry or oversized desktop icons completely.
Blurry or oversized desktop icons in Windows can be frustrating, especially after a display scaling change or system update. This issue commonly occurs on high-DPI monitors when Windows fails to properly scale desktop icons or when icon cache gets corrupted. Here’s how to fix it:

1. Adjust Display Scaling Settings
Improper DPI (dots per inch) scaling is a common cause of blurry or oversized icons.
Steps:

- Right-click on the desktop and select Display settings.
- Under Scale & layout, try changing the scaling percentage (e.g., 100%, 125%, 150%).
- After changing the scale, sign out and back in (or restart) for changes to take full effect.
- Avoid using custom scaling values unless necessary — stick to Windows-recommended options.
Tip: If you're using multiple monitors, make sure each display has appropriate scaling set individually.
2. Rebuild the Icon Cache
Corrupted or outdated icon cache can cause blurry or incorrectly sized icons.

Steps to rebuild the icon cache:
- Press Ctrl Shift Esc to open Task Manager.
- Find Windows Explorer under the Processes tab, right-click it, and choose Restart.
- Open File Explorer and navigate to:
C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Local
(Replace YourUsername with your actual account name.)
- Look for files named:
iconcache.db
thumbcache_*.db
(optional)
- Delete
iconcache.db
(you may need to enable hidden files to see AppData). - Restart your computer — Windows will rebuild the icon cache automatically.
Note: If you can’t delete the file because it’s in use, restart your PC in Safe Mode and try again.
3. Change Desktop Icon Size and Spacing
If icons appear too large or misaligned, manually adjust their size and spacing.
Steps:
- Right-click on the desktop → View.
- Choose Medium icons or Large icons (avoid Extra large unless needed).
- To fine-tune spacing:
- Press Win R, type
regedit
, and press Enter. - Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
- Modify values like
IconSpacing
andIconVerticalSpacing
(default is usually -1125). - Restart Explorer or your PC after changes.
Caution: Be careful when editing the registry. Back it up first.
4. Update or Reinstall Graphics Drivers
Outdated or faulty graphics drivers can cause display scaling issues.
Steps:
- Press Win X → Device Manager.
- Expand Display adapters, right-click your GPU, and select Update driver.
- Choose Search automatically for updated driver software.
- If that doesn’t help, visit your GPU manufacturer’s website (e.g., NVIDIA, AMD, Intel) and download the latest driver.
Alternatively, uninstall the driver and restart — Windows will install a generic one that may handle scaling better temporarily.
5. Check for Windows Updates
Microsoft regularly releases fixes for DPI and scaling bugs.
- Go to Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update.
- Install any available updates, especially cumulative updates or feature upgrades.
Most of the time, combining scaling adjustments with a rebuilt icon cache resolves the issue. If the problem persists only with specific icons (e.g., shortcuts), try changing their target icons or recreating them.
Basically, it comes down to DPI settings, cache, and drivers — fix those, and your desktop should look sharp again.
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- Press Win R, type

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