Fuzzy Icons

Yeah, they got worse. Wow.

And... after restarting they got better again.

I bet that more people aren't noticing this because they aren't using their computers for extended periods of time without restarting...

I too have been having a problem with pixelated icons appearing all over the place, not just the finder but also dialogue boxes that display the apps icon.

A reset or log out/log in will fix the problem but not for long. Really annoying bug that I hope gets fixed.

Clean install of Snow Leopard.

I should have posted this before, but for those readers of this thread that don't already know, there is a free program called TinkerTool. One of its functions is the ability to add a "quit finder" function to the finder menu. That really comes in handy for dealing with the icon issue. When it gets too bad, simply click "Finder" on the menu bar, click "Quit Finder", wait a couple of seconds, then click on the finder icon in the dock. Finder is restarted and I've found this is much less of a hassle than restarting the Mac or logging in and out.

The problem seems to persist: with me, it only appeared a few days ago, with a fresh install of Mac Office (I naturally blamed MS for messing up the Word icon).

Then, I installed Picasa for the first time - same fuzzy icon problem. OK, I thought, they are third party apps, might just not be up to it. But then - with today's iTunes update - iTunes has also gone fuzzy.

On my Mac, the effect seems to appear with apps only, and only after updates or fresh installs. I have not found any other files/folders with this effect. Yet.

This is annoying! Neither a finder restart nor deleting the finder preference list have helped so far. I tried CocoThumbX as well to refresh the icons. No result.

This thread is definitely not answered yet.

Restarting the Mac completely helped. I am not convinced that this is a permanent solution, though.

Kindof ironic, seeing that part of Mac's appeal is it's super sexy interface.

Ciudad de Torres wrote:
Restarting the Mac completely helped. I am not convinced that this is a permanent solution, though.

Definitely not a permanent solution. I've been playing with some other things and may have found something that helps more but I haven't tested it enough and don't want to jinx it. Apple has been notified and hopefully this will be addressed in 10.6.2.

Still not solved. Upgraded to 10.6.2 today, still getting the fuzzy icons in the Finder - Apple-Tab app switcher.

Tried relaunching the Finder. No luck. Definitely not fixed.

I agree this is clearly not solved and it was a bit audacious of the moderator to mark it so.
I've been advising people to not upgrade because, frankly, the shoddy approach Apple has taken to this interface issue (ugly icons, vanishing icons) makes me worry about the entire OS. If they are this slip shod about the most prominent and visible part of the OS what is going on under the hood that is equally undesirable.
Two updates and not a hint of this being addressed. Is it any wonder that they permitted your home directory to be wiped out when they can't tackle something this simple?

This is still happening for me too on my iMac. I've never seen it on my MacBook though so I'm wondering if the screen resolution could be a factor in causing the problem somehow. Either directly or because I display the icons bigger as a result?

One thing I've noticed is that when the problem kicks in it seems to effect every "new" icon after that. So if I upgrade iTunes the iTunes dock icon will be pixellated. Similarly if I run something I don't normally have in the Dock, the Dock icon for that application will be pixellated, as will icons for downloads etc.

It all seems to point to a cache which isn't big enough somewhere?

I too, have encountered the fuzzy icon issue. However, on my previous iMac G5 20" running OSX 10.5.8, I began to encounter the problem. I thought I had to update to an Intel machine and begin to run Snow Leopard... when the same problem began to occur, I was only able to cure it by restarting the system... I saw the problem on my firewire external drives as well as the USB ext drives on both Macs...
I sure would like to see Apple look at this and repair it in their next sw update...

Does Apple read these posts ???

I just had this issue and solved it on my Macbook Pro 2.16Ghz running fully updated 10.6.2:

1. download and launch Onyx
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11582

2. go thru Onyx hurdles and finally click on the Cleaning icon

3. turn off every checkbox except the User / Dock Icons

4. click Execute

5. restart

6. verify your Dock Icons have returned to normal

Please let us know how this fix works for you !

I'm having serious problems with these fuzzy icons! I suppose I navigate a lot in icon view, but it never caused any problems before "upgrading" to 10.6. Now, I start getting fuzzy icons after about 20 minutes of computer use. Restarting the computer or Relaunching the Finder temporarily fixes the problem, for about another 20 minutes. It's rather annoying and certainly interrupts my work flow to have to relaunch the Finder every 20 minutes! I tried Onyx and other "fixes" suggested by CNET, which have worked . . . for about 20 minutes. Then it's back to fuzziness! Is there any real fix for this problem? I can't believe that Apple hasn't addressed this issue in a software update. It really adversely affects the appearance and functionality of the new system.

I also have fuzzy icons on the desktop and in the dock. (Mail and System Preferences are the ones that are fuzzy in the Dock). Many are fuzzy (pixelated) on the desktop. When I push command tab they are also pixelated there. How can I fix this?
Help!!
My MacBook Pro is new.

Message was edited by: JSP007