When I go through the procedure: Settings>Change PC Settings>Accounts>Account Picture>Browse
I can't choose an account picture as I see only icons and not pictures.
Is there a simple solution?
Hi there. That's strange. I have 8.1 Pro also and this is the page I get. Do pics show up fine in your File Explorer? Looks to me like something may be wrong with your Thumbnail Cache perhaps?
Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I do see a selection of folders as in your picture, but when I open a folder of pictures I just see the Windows Photo Viewer icons and no thumbnails as in my picture. Thumbnails are displayed correctly in File Explorer however.
Where is the thumbnail cache you refer to and what might I do to repair it if necessary?
Trouble is this is brand new PC and I don't know that this function ever did work. The very first time I tried to alter my account picture was when I noticed it didn't work!
Tried a new account but I still got the same icon problem.
I also tried re-indexing all files and rebuilding the SystemData File (in C>ProgramData>Microsoft>Windows>SystemData ) in case it was corrupted. (Someone else's suggestion.)
This did not cure the problem completely BUT now when I point at any of those pesky icons, a little window opens with details of the photo (filename and location) AND A TINY THUMBNAIL!!!!
So at least I can see what I'm choosing even if not in the simplest manner.
There is always a downside - now I can't change the Lock Screen photo at all; when I chose a picture, my selection isn't saved.
What would a Windows refresh achieve? Would I have to reinstall all the software I've spent ages installing and setting up?
Here are some images to show what I have tried to describe.
First attachment shows what happens when I select an Account picture.
I get the same when I try to select a Lock Screen picture, but the second attachment shows that there is no Lock Screen Preview. If I sign out, the Lock Screen shows a Windows default picture.
I changed the location of all my local folders away from drive C (which is a SSD) to another drive. So all my pictures are in "My Pictures" but not on C drive.
Having said that, I have the exact same structure on our other Windows 8.1 PC and everything works just fine on that one.
So I guess something has got chewed up somewhere, somehow!
Ah, ok. Moving your user folders can sometimes introduce unknown issues like this.
If you like, move your user folders back to C. Instead, create a new folder on the other drive to store you images in, and add that folder to your Pictures library.
The mystery remains!
I moved all my user folders back to their default locations (C:\Users\User\...) without moving their contents.
I included the folder containing all my pictures in the Pictures Library.
Result - no change I'm afraid.
In the meantime I managed to change the Lock Screen Picture by using third party software.
I think I may just have to live with this problem as the number of times I might change Account Picture and Lock Screen Picture is very limited. It just feels a little unsatisfactory to leave the problem unresolved.
Many thanks for your help.