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Generic Icons in Dock and in Applications Folder

My icons are turning into generics both in the dock and in the applications folder where the "real" icons belong. So there is nothing to drag.

Mojave, iMac

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.14

Posted on Nov 1, 2020 8:38 AM

Best reply

dialabrain

Level 10

122,549 points

Posted on Nov 1, 2020 9:23 AM

Try restarting into Safe Mode then restart normally.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

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Best reply

dialabrain

Level 10

122,549 points

Nov 1, 2020 9:23 AM in response to Carol in Chicago

Try restarting into Safe Mode then restart normally.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Nov 1, 2020 9:37 AM in response to dialabrain

Thank you. I saw that in another (closed) thread and tried it. Yes, that got most of the dock icons repaired and all of the ones in the applications folder. So now I'm good. Curious about how this happens, and how it seemed to escalate over a couple of weeks.

dialabrain

Level 10

122,549 points

Nov 1, 2020 9:43 AM in response to Carol in Chicago

You're welcome. It's caused by the icon cache getting corrupted for whatever reason. Once there is corruption, it just gets worse. Starting in Safe Mode clears out various caches.

Generic Icons in Dock and in Applications Folder