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ie4uinit.exe -show taskkill /im explorer.exe /f del /a /q %localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache_*.db start explorer.exe

pnputil /restart-device "PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_..." # find your GPU via Device Manager Better yet, use a script to disable/enable the display adapter:

Get-PnpDevice -Class Display | Disable-PnpDevice -Confirm:$false Start-Sleep -Seconds 3 Get-PnpDevice -Class Display | Enable-PnpDevice -Confirm:$false This forces a full device-level reinitialization without reboot. | Symptom | Method | |--------|--------| | File not showing in folder | F5 | | Taskbar/desktop icons frozen | Restart Explorer | | Screen artifacts, color glitch | Win+Ctrl+Shift+B | | Thumbnails wrong permanently | Clear thumbnail cache | | GPU driver crash / black screen | Disable/enable display adapter | | Everything broken but system on | Reboot | Final technical note: The F5 refresh in Windows 11 is just a UI redraw + directory re-poll. It does not "free memory" or "fix crashes" — those are myths from the Windows 98 era. For real screen issues, go deeper up to the driver reset level.