Taskbar Thumbnail Previews

For some unknown reason my taskbar thumbnail previews have suddenly disappeared.
Can somebody PLEASE tell me how to get them back.

Something simple caused it - something simple will cure it

Hello Cherokee,

You might check the tutorial below to see if you may have set a high delay time to show taskbar thumbnails that would effectively disable them.

If this was the case, you can use step 5 in the tutorial to restore the default value and enable taskbar thumbnails.

Change Delay Time to Show Taskbar Thumbnails in Windows 10

Brink said:

Hello Cherokee,

You might check the tutorial below to see if you may have set a high delay time to show taskbar thumbnails that would effectively disable them.

If this was the case, you can use step 5 in the tutorial to restore the default value and enable taskbar thumbnails.

Change Delay Time to Show Taskbar Thumbnails in Windows 10

Thank you Brink, before I go into that, will deleting the thumbnail cache help ? A few links on the web say it may.
I have not done anything, the thumbnails just stopped showing.

Cherokee said:

Thank you Brink, before I go into that, will deleting the thumbnail cache help ? A few links on the web say it may.

That may help with thumbnail previews in File Explorer or on your desktop, but it usually will not help for taskbar thumbnail previews not showing.

It will not hurt anything to try though.

Clear and Reset Thumbnail Cache in Windows 10

Brink said:

That may help with thumbnail previews in File Explorer or on your desktop, but it usually will not help for taskbar thumbnail previews not showing.

It will not hurt anything to try though.

Clear and Reset Thumbnail Cache in Windows 10

I deleted 5 thumbnail cache items with high KB's as a test - they deleted OK, but on reopening File Explorer they had come back !

Cherokee said:

I deleted 5 thumbnail cache items with high KB's as a test - they deleted OK, but on reopening File Explorer they had come back !

This is normal. The thumbnail cache will automatically be recreated fresh.

Brink said:

This is normal. The thumbnail cache will automatically be recreated fresh.

Brink - problem solved - I restarted my PC and the thumbnails are back !
Thank you so much for your help.

Lesson learnt - if something irregular but relatively minor happens - restart your PC first before you commence any surgery.

Great news