If your taskbar is frozen, icons are missing, or the desktop is unresponsive, you can "refresh" the entire shell interface by restarting the explorer.exe process.

5 Essential Ways to Refresh Windows Using Command Lines Ever had your desktop icons freeze, or noticed that a new folder you just created isn’t showing up? While a full reboot often fixes things, it’s a massive time-sink. For power users, the "refresh" button isn't just a right-click away—it's a command away.

Added a new folder to your system but your terminal doesn't recognize it yet? You can refresh environment variables by restarting the shell or using PowerShell to cycle the explorer process.

| Command | Works in | Effect | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | cls | CMD & PowerShell | Clears the screen. | | clear | PowerShell only | Clears the screen. | | Ctrl + L | PowerShell (PSReadLine) | Clears screen like Linux. |