Solve the problem of Windows 10/11 thumbnails loading slowly or not displaying! This article will introduce how to speed up the loading of Windows thumbnails.

Windows thumbnails are slow to load

Windows thumbnails are miniature previews of files and folders, which facilitate quick identification of files. However, many users find that thumbnails in File Explorer loading is slow and cannot even be displayed, affecting work efficiency.

This tutorial will provide a variety of ways to speed up Windows thumbnail loading, including increasing the thumbnail cache size, preventing Windows from deleting cached files, etc. Please follow these steps:

How to speed up Windows thumbnail loading

Method 1: Make sure the thumbnail function is enabled

If the system is set to not display thumbnails for files and folders, the thumbnails will not load at all. Please make sure the thumbnail feature is enabled:

Step 1: Open Windows Settings from the Start Menu. If settings are missing in the Start menu, press the Windows I shortcut key to access the settings.

Step 2: Select System Options and go to the About tab. In the right panel, click Advanced System Settings .

Step 3: In the new window, under the Advanced tab, click Settings in the Performance section.

Under the Visual Effects tab, make sure the Show thumbnails instead of icons option is selected.

Step 4: Click the Apply and OK buttons in turn to make the above changes take effect.

Method 2: Modify the group policy

If the thumbnail cache is closed, the thumbnail loading may be slow. You can enable thumbnail caching by configuring group policy:

Step 1: Open the local Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer .

Step 3: In the right panel, locate and double-click to close the cache of hidden thumbnails in the thumbs.db file .

Step 4: In the new window, select the enabled option. Then, click Apply > OK .

Step 5: Restart the computer and check if the problem is resolved.

Method 3: Stop clearing the thumbnail cache

Regularly clearing caches can help improve computer performance and reduce storage space usage. However, clearing the thumbnail cache causes the File Explorer to reload the cached file every time, resulting in slow thumbnail loading. You can prevent Windows from deleting thumbnail caches by editing the Windows registry.

Note: Be sure to back up the system before performing the following operations.

Step 1: Open Registry Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to the following path:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches\Thumbnail Cache

Step 3: In the right panel, double-click the Autorun key. Then, set its value data to 0 and click OK to save this change.

Step 4: Repeat the same process for the Autorun key under the following path:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VolumeCaches

Step 5: Restart the computer and check if the thumbnails are loading at normal speed.

Method 4: Increase the thumbnail cache size

Increasing the thumbnail cache size is also an effective way to speed up Windows thumbnail loading:

Step 1: Open Registry Editor.

Step 2: In the right panel, right-click any blank space and select New > String Value . Name the newly created value Max Cached Icons .

Step 3: Double-click Max Cached Icons and set its value data to 4096 . Finally, click OK .

Summarize

You can speed up thumbnail loading in Windows 10/11 by modifying Group Policy, preventing Windows from deleting thumbnail cache files, and increasing thumbnail cache size.

Remember, before editing the registry, use MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up your registry or system. Also, if your file is deleted by mistake, please use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to recover deleted files.

If you have any questions about MiniTool software, please feel free to send an email to [Contact Email].

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