Share this article

Improve this guide

How to Increase the Icon Cache Size on Windows 10

Boost your PC’s performance with a quick Registry tweak

1 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

Share this article

Improve this guide

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial teamRead more

Key notes

Windows features many usefulfilesmeant to help your PC work faster. Among thesefiles, there is theiconcache which keeps copies of each and everyiconsample.

This will come in handy when Windows needs to create a certain type offileor improve the basiciconafter an upgrade. Instead of using the originaliconfile, it takes a copy that was stored in theiconcacheand thus, the task is completed much faster.

However, sometimes your PC may be slow, and this is because there are too manyiconsstored in the cache. To fix this problem, the best solution is to increase theiconcache size.

How can I increase the size of Windows 10’s icon cache?

How can I increase the size of Windows 10’s icon cache?

  1. Open the Run dialog by pressing theWin+Rkeys on the keyboard.

  2. Type the commandregeditin the text box and then pressEnter. The Registry Editor window will open.

  3. Navigate to the following key in the Registry:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer

  4. Once you launch the Explorer section, you need to create a new String Value calledMax Cached Icons, which will reveal the maximum allocated space for theiconcache.

  5. The value you need to introduce is 4096 which is the equivalent of 4 MBs. This is an improvement to the 550 KBs which are offered by the default Windows settings.

Increasing the size to more MBs might result in a slow working Windows system, so the key point is to not go overboard.

  1. Once you complete all these steps, you can close theRegistryEditor and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

You can increase Windows 10’s icon cache size very easily by making a small modification to your Registry. In doing so, you will be able to customize the size to your liking.

However, as per usual, you need to be careful while making any changes to your Registry, and follow the guide thoroughly to avoid causing any harm to your PC.

We hope this article helped you to increase theiconcachesize on your Windows 10 device. If you come across other workarounds to increaseWindows10’s icon cache size, you can list the troubleshooting steps in the comment section below.

Likewise, write down in the comments section any thoughts or questions you have about this article.

More about the topics:Windows 10 Guides

Ivan Jenic

Windows Hardware Expert

Passionate about all elements related to Windows and combined with his innate curiosity, Ivan has delved deep into understanding this operating system, with a specialization in drivers and driver troubleshooting.

When he’s not tackling diverse driver-related problems, Ivan enjoys watching good movies and spending time hiking with his family and friends.

User forum

1 messages

Sort by:LatestOldestMost Votes

Comment*

Name*

Email*

Commenting as.Not you?

Save information for future comments

Comment

Δ

Ivan Jenic

Windows Hardware Expert

Ivan has delved deep into understanding the Windows OS, with a specialization in drivers and driver troubleshooting.