7 Best Fixes for Black Background Behind Folder Icon in Windows 11

Windows 11, like any platform, is not free of bugs or glitches. Users may experience issues such as folder renaming or shared folder access problems. However, a new problem has emerged recently, involving a black background appearing behind certain folder icons in Windows 11.

If you are a Windows 10 user, please refer to our previous post about the black background issue with folders. This post will concentrate on offering the most effective solutions for the black background problem in Windows 11.

1. Change Folder Icon From Properties

If one or two folder icons have a black square background on your Windows 11 computer, you can fix this by changing the folder icon. Here’s how:

1. Right-click on the folder icon with the black background.

2. Select Properties.

Step 3: In the Properties window, click the Customize tab.

Step 4: Click Change Icon at the bottom under Customize.

To review a provided text and eliminate redundant words or phrases, let’s start with step 5. Here’s the revised version:

“Step 5: Select the folder icon and click Ok.”

To remove the black background behind another folder icon, use the same method.

Restoring the folder icon settings to default mode resolves this issue. This prevents the folder icon from changing its outlook. Here’s how:

Step 1: Right-click on the folder icon with the black background. Step 2: Select Properties.

Step 3: In the Properties window, click the Customize tab.

To simplify the text, you can eliminate redundant words and phrases to make it more concise and impactful. Here’s the revised version:

Step 4: Click Restore Default under Customize.

Step 5: Click Apply at the bottom-right corner and then Ok.

If you have multiple folder icons with the same issue, check the next solution.

Every folder icon in Windows 11 is a thumbnail preview. A thumbnail is a visual identifier for folders and programs. If you see a black square background behind folder icons, reset the thumbnail cache by performing Disk Cleanup on your Windows 11 computer. Here’s how: Step 1: Click the Windows icon, search for Disk Cleanup, and press Enter.

Step 2: Select C drive and click Ok.

Step 3: Under Files to Delete section, scroll down and click the checkbox next to Thumbnails.

Step 4: Click Ok at the bottom-left corner to confirm.

Step 5: Click Delete Files to confirm your choice.

After Disk Cleanup is complete, check if the problem is solved.

4. Update Display Driver

Your Graphics Driver on Windows 11 is responsible for rendering visual graphics on your system, including folder icons. If you haven’t updated the driver recently, it’s important to do so.

Step 1: Click the Windows icon, type Device Manager, and press Enter.

To review and refine the text, we’ll start by eliminating redundancies, simplifying phrases, and improving clarity without changing the original meaning:

Step 2: Click Display Adapters. Step 3: Right-click your video card name and select Update Driver.

Step 4: Click Search Automatically for Drivers to start.

Once the driver installation is complete, close Device Manager and check for a resolution to the problem.

5. Rebuild Icon Cache

Whenever you open a storage drive on your Windows 11 computer, the file and folder icons either appear quickly or with a delay. Icon Cache stores all the information about these icons, similar to App Cache on mobile. If the folder icons still have a black background, you can rebuild Icon Cache to fix any corruption.

Step 1: Click the Windows icon on the taskbar and type “Command Prompt.”

Step 2: Click Run As Administrator from the right menu.

Step 2: Once Command Prompt opens, type the following path in the address bar and press Enter:

cd /d %userprofile%\App Data\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

Step 3: Type the next command and press Enter:

attrib -h iconcache_*.db

Step 4: Type the next command and press Enter:

del iconcache_*.db start explorer

Close the Command Prompt window and restart your Windows 11 computer to rebuild Icon Cache.

After restarting your system, check if the problem is solved.

6. Run an SFC Scan

SFC (System File Checker) scan is a utility that detects corrupt or damaged operating system files and replaces them with correct versions. To fix a black background behind the folder icon, follow these steps:

1. Click the Windows icon on the taskbar and type “Command Prompt.”

Reviewing the provided text, it can be made more concise and impactful by eliminating some redundant words and simplifying certain phrases. Below is the revised version:

Step 2: Click Run As Administrator from the menu.

Step 3: Type the command and press Enter. sfc /scannow
Step 4: Wait for the system scan to complete. Step 5: If you see the message ‘Windows resource protection found corrupt files and successfully repaired them’ on your screen, close the Command Prompt window.

Step 6: Restart your system and check if the problem is solved.

7. Update the Version of Windows 11

If previous solutions have failed, try updating your Windows 11 to resolve this issue.

1. Click the Windows icon, enter “Settings” and press Enter.

Step 2: Click on Windows Update in the top-right corner.

Step 3: If there’s an update available, click Download, then click Restart to install it.

Step 4: After installing the update, check for a resolution.

To fix the black background issue behind folder icons on your Windows 11 computer, follow these steps. If your system isn’t working smoothly, open the Task Manager to identify the program consuming the most system resources.