Software Overlay Icons Disappear in Win7

Posted on May 4, 2015

If you use a versioning repository software, such as Dropbox or Subversion, then you rely heavily on the small icon overlays to provide you with a visual notification if your file or folder is out of date with the server. In Windows 7, the icons occasionally disappear, most often after a reboot or a background software update. You can force Windows 7 to once again display your icon overlays.

To restore your icon overlays:

1. Open Windows Search, type regedit, and press ENTER to open your registry.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers
   You might find that a software, such as Dropbox in the example below, has been updated and the names are at the top of the list:
   
3. Rename your icon overlays so that your application will come first. For example, if you want TortoiseSVN to be prioritized, use the following names:
   
4. End Windows Explorer by completing the following tasks:
   1. Press CNTR+ALT+DEL to access the task manager
   2. On the Processes tab, click on explorer.exe and click End Process.
   3. Confirm that you want to end explorer.exe by clicking End process.
      Your Windows menu bar will disappear.
5. In the task manager, go to File > New Task (Run…) and select explorer.
6. Click OK to restart Windows Explorer.
7. Open your folder to confirm that your overlays once again appear in your folders.