Fix OneDrive or Dropbox Icon Overlays via Regedit

If your OneDrive or Dropbox sync status icons have disappeared in Windows File Explorer, the issue is typically caused by Windows limiting the total number of system-wide icon overlay slots to 15. Because programs add their own overlay identifiers to the Windows Registry in alphabetical order, third-party apps often push OneDrive and Dropbox down the list beyond the 15-slot limit. This guide explains how to use the Registry Editor to rearrange these entries by renaming them with leading spaces, ensuring Windows prioritizes and displays your chosen cloud storage sync icons.

Why Icon Overlays Disappear

Windows reserves four overlay slots for its own system use, leaving only 11 slots for other software. Programs like OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and TortoiseSVN compete for these remaining slots. Windows loads them strictly alphabetically from the registry; any overlays falling past the total limit are simply ignored.

Step-by-Step Guide to Rearrange Overlays

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter (or click OK).
  3. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), click Yes.

Step 2: Navigate to the Overlay Identifiers Key

Copy and paste the following path into the Registry Editor address bar at the top, then press Enter:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers

Step 3: Prioritize Your Target Overlays

Under the ShellIconOverlayIdentifiers folder, you will see a list of subkeys corresponding to different programs.

Because Windows loads keys in alphabetical order, entries with spaces or numbers at the beginning take highest priority.

  1. Locate the keys related to your preferred service:
    • OneDrive: Usually named OneDrive1, OneDrive2, OneDrive3, etc.
    • Dropbox: Usually named DropboxExt01, DropboxExt02, etc.
  2. Right-click the key you want to prioritize and select Rename.
  3. Add three or four spaces before the name (e.g., change OneDrive1 to OneDrive1).
  4. Repeat this for all relevant OneDrive or Dropbox keys you want active.
  5. (Optional) To deprioritize other apps that use leading spaces, rename them and remove the spaces from the beginning of their names.

Step 4: Restart Windows Explorer

The registry changes will not take effect until Windows Explorer is restarted.

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Under the Processes tab, locate Windows Explorer.
  3. Right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart.

Once File Explorer reloads, the rearranged overlay entries will be loaded within the active limit, restoring your OneDrive or Dropbox status icons.