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Finder shows generic icon in some folders

This is a really weird problem. Sometimes (no rhyme or reason as to when) a folder will show generic icons instead of the appropriate ones. When I move all the contents to a temporary folder, delete the original folder, recreate it, and move the files back, the proper icons are shown. Why on Earth could this be?

Posted on May 14, 2022 5:28 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 15, 2022 7:25 AM

DammarVarnish wrote:

This is a really weird problem. Sometimes (no rhyme or reason as to when) a folder will show generic icons instead of the appropriate ones. When I move all the contents to a temporary folder, delete the original folder, recreate it, and move the files back, the proper icons are shown. Why on Earth could this be?



You can try relaunching the Finder on the fly and compare your results...


hold the Control Option key when clicking the Finder icon in the far left of the Dock>Relaunch




To trouble shoot further you can:


—SafeBoot How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


Takes a bit longer to get to the login screen, does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.


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2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 15, 2022 7:25 AM in response to DammarVarnish

DammarVarnish wrote:

This is a really weird problem. Sometimes (no rhyme or reason as to when) a folder will show generic icons instead of the appropriate ones. When I move all the contents to a temporary folder, delete the original folder, recreate it, and move the files back, the proper icons are shown. Why on Earth could this be?



You can try relaunching the Finder on the fly and compare your results...


hold the Control Option key when clicking the Finder icon in the far left of the Dock>Relaunch




To trouble shoot further you can:


—SafeBoot How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support


Takes a bit longer to get to the login screen, does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.


May 16, 2022 3:17 PM in response to leroydouglas

I tried many things before I posted. "killall Finder" was one of them. I also cleared the icon cache and the application cache. I booted in safe mode -- same problem. I called Apple and was told my best bet was to reinstall the OS, but that's a pain in the rear. Something I noticed: this is only a problem in list view. In icon view the correct icons are shown.

Finder shows generic icon in some folders

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