Image thumbnails don't match image

el · Joined: Nov 14, 2006 Posts: 255

hi (:

seeing i didn't get an answer in the windows forum, i'm reposting this question here Laughing

i had the situation a few days ago that i wanted to sort through a folder of images which i had copied from an external HD onto the internal HD, using windows explorer on XP Pro.
i set the view mode to thumbnails, however, when i opened the images, the picture that appeared did not match the thumbnail. This wasn't with all thumbnails..i would say about half of the thumbnails matched the image, and the other half didn't.
i then moved all the files into another folder, and the thumbnails were then correct.
but if i move them back, the thumbnails are wrong again (the thumbnails show the same images as before i moved the files)
i now seem to be forced to leave the images in that other folder.
i checked the folder i copied from on the external HD, and i had the same problem there..with the same solution..
this problem only occurs in that exact location, as far as i can see..nowhere else on the computer nor on the external HD.

what could be the reason for this, and is there a solution?

El

goretsky · Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:11 am Post subject:

Hello,

I suspect the hidden thumbs.db file which caches the thumbnails of images is damaged. What you might want to try doing is disabling the caching of thumbnails for images (see the first set of instructions here), then doing a search on the folder(s) involve for files named "thumbs.db" and deleting them. When you are done removing the files, re-enable the creation of thumbnails, and Windows Explorer should recreate a working cache of the pictures in the folder(s) as you view them. It may take some time for Explorer to do this, especially if you have many pictures in a folder.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

el · Joined: Nov 14, 2006 Posts: 255

thank you very much for the reply Very Happy

i tried the suggestion..and managed to get as far as disabling the caching of thumbnails Laughing

when it came to deleting the thumbs.db file..i did the search, and from what i can see, the file is always stored in the same folder as the images?
however, i couldn't find any thumbs.db file or similar in the folders where i'm having this problem.
i now tried moving the files back with caching disabled, and the thumbnails matched the images. but the minute i turned caching back on, the thumbnails were wrong again.
i guess i shall leave caching off for the meantime..i'm just wondering where else the thumbs.db file for that folder could be stored?
seeing i can't exactly delete it if i can't find it Laughing

(i do have 'show hidden files and folders' activated)

El

goretsky · Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject:

Hello,

By default, the thumbnail files are marked as hidden by the operating system and not visible in Windows Explorer. Here is how change this:

Open Windows Explorer by clicking on the Computer or My Computer icon on your Desktop.
Click on Tools -> Folder Options from the main menu bar. The Folder Options window will appear.
Click on the View tab, and make sure Show hidden files and folders is selected. If you want, you can also de-select (un-check) Hide extensions for known filetypes and Hide protected operating system files. Doing so will allow you to view more files and directories on your computer through Windows Explorer, but it is not necessary.
Click on the Apply to Folders button, followed by the OK button.

The next time you look for thumbs.db files, they should appear.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

el · Joined: Nov 14, 2006 Posts: 255

thanks..i'm afraid i already did this though Confused

and the thumbs.db file showed up in other folders..but i couldn't find it for this specific one..is there any other place where it could be saved?

El

goretsky · Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:24 am Post subject:

Hello,

It would be located in the same directory as the files it contains thumbnails of, as I understand it.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 924

The cause SEEMS to be a corrupted database with confused pointers. If you were to run a reg. fixer (not a cleaner) it MAY find this & correct it. BUT, I think you already found a simpler solution in coping the files to another folder (assuming this is the same partition) & just delete the old one. Then rename the new one to what you had.

grum · Joined: Nov 25, 2003 Posts: 11

I had the same thing happen to me a few days ago as well , but in my case i was transfering several individual images from an sd card to different folders at the same time on my internal HDDs .
well the answer to your problem has been answered above.
in my situation
all i do is when this happens Is i delete the Thumbs .db file. in the new folders that my images went into. If you can't see a thumbs db file try switching back and forth between thumbnail view and icons. this generates a new Thumbs db file which corrects the problem if not then delete it again .and switch views again.

I have never had this problem occur in the past only recently in the last few days, maybe one of the windows security updates that came in over the last week maybe be causing this .I not sure.

Cheers grum

el · Joined: Nov 14, 2006 Posts: 255

hmm..i think i'll stick to just making a new folder..and moving the images there.. (:
in my case, it can't be a windows update, as the computer on which i got the problem isn't connected to the internet and has never been updated Laughing

so i'm not sure what caused the problem Shocked

but at least there's a way of getting around it, if not exactly solving it Laughing

thanks

El

TranceWarp · Joined: Oct 03, 2003 Posts: 30

I had the same problem recently and I just renamed the files. Problem fixed.

el · Joined: Nov 14, 2006 Posts: 255

I haven't been confronted with this problem again since, so I can't say if that would work for me
I shall keep it in mind though, in case i come across it again.

El