Custom icons getting lost.

[LGM09]

Hi ... I am having a problem with file types keeping their custom icons and I am pretty sure I have narrowed it down to Ace Utilities when I run the wizard for cleaning.

What I did was give .txt documents a custom icon via the Folder Options in Windows. Every couple of days I noticed the files would revert to Windows standard icons. I noticed this just today after I did a round of cleaning with various cleaners -- ie, Ace Utilities and CCleaner. So I figured it was one of these. To test it, I re-assigned text documents their own custom icon, then ran each of the utilities individually and re-booted the machine before running the next one. After I ran Ace Utilities, the custom icon was lost.

So can anyone figure out which setting is making file types lose their custom icons? I run the wizard pretty much on the default settings.

Thanks in advance.

[Aneesh]

Hi,

Which version of Windows and Ace Utilities are you using?

[LGM09]

Thanks for your reply Aneesh. I found the solution. I unchecked "File Associations" under "Clean System Registry" and now the custom icons stick.

FYI, I am running XP Home SP-3 and Ace Utilities 4.2.0.457.

Acelogix may want to look into this as I'm sure the intention was not to undo custom icons that users apply under "Folder Options."

Or was it??

At any rate, problem solved now.

[Aneesh]

We tried to simulate the problem but even after repeated tries, the custom icon did not get reset. 'File Associations' should not cause such an issue unless the extension entry had some error in it which caused the 'Clean System Registry' tool to remove the entry itself.

[Aneesh]

If you can, then please enable all the scan options in the 'Clean System Registry' tool, run the scan, right-click in the list after scanning is finished, select 'Report' and save. Upload the text file in your next post here for us to review the entries being deleted.

[LGM09]

Aneesh, this issue had been happening repeatedly and regularly. It only happens for icons changed via Tools>Folder Options>File Types. I can repeat the problem every time too.

I did not have this issue for custom folder icons that I applied with a utility called Folder Marker. Nor did Ace Utilities interfere with custom icons I applied via Display Properties>Desktop>Customize Desktop. I use custom icons for things like the trash bin on the desktop and I've never had a problem with them sticking.

Could it be that the partition on my hard drive where I store my custom icons is NOT the system partition? I store my custom icons in an extended partition labeled "E."

If your developers try that (changing a file type icon with one stored in a non-system partition), I bet they can replicate the problem. It would be nice if they could fix this issue so I can leave that option checked.

BTW, I have relied on Ace Utilities for years and it remains one of my all-time favorite utilities!

[LGM09]

Ok, I ran just the registry scan, with all options checked, and the log is attached. It shows where Ace Utilities is changing the registry entries for the .txt file icons.

You know, If I had run the registry scan by itself, instead of only under the comprehensive wizard, I probably would have pinpointed the problem/solutions sooner. But with Ace Utilities, I always only use the one-click wizard. So I never look at what gets changed/fixed.

If you could fix this issue in AU, that would be appreciated. Or tell me how I can get around the issue while still keeping the option checked.

[Aneesh]

In the scan list, select the entries that matches with the following, right-click and choose 'exclude always'.

Code: Select all

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT         txtfile\DefaultIcon

Run 'Clean System Registry' again and confirm the 'excluded' entries are not shown in the list.

[LGM09]

Aneesh --

1) Is the reason your developers couldn't replicate the problem was because I keep custom icons in a non-system partition?

2) Is there a more global fix? I would like to give custom icons to many file types but if I have to make an exception for each one in AU then I will simply keep "File Associations" unchecked permanently. It's too much of a hassle to make an exception for each file type.

Can't they fix it instead?

[Aneesh]

Yes, there is a more general fix. But there seems to a small 'possible bug' in Ace Utilities whereby it is not 'accepting' the fix. We're looking into it.

[LGM09]

OK, great. Thanks so much for your help, Aneesh.

I will look out for a new update. Please let me know in this thread when/if they fix it. In the meantime, I will just uncheck the option for File Associations in preferences. That's the easiest way for me.

[Aneesh]

The issue will be fixed in v5.1 release. To overcome this issue in current versions, there is one simple solution - remove the commas from the name given to the folders in which you keep your icon files.