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Change the Icons of Desktop Items

Intended For
Windows 98
Windows 95
Although direct support isn't built into Windows 98 for changing the icons used for the various desktop items, it can be done. For the following items, filename is the name of the ICO or DLL file, and ## is the number of the icon in the file to display, starting at zero (0).


Inbox Icon:

  • Open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\ {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\ DefaultIcon, and change the (Default) value to "filename, ##."


Network Neighborhood:

  • Open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\ {208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ DefaultIcon, and change the (Default) value to "filename, ##."


My Computer:

  • Open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\ {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ DefaultIcon, and change the (Default) value to "filename, ##."


Recycle Bin:

  • Open HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\ {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\ DefaultIcon, and change the (Default) value to "filename, ##."
  • You can also change the Empty and Full icons for the Recycle Bin using the respective values in the key.


All Folders:

  • See the book for details.

  • Note: You can change the icons for other system objects. Follow the above instructions for the codes listed in Make Control Panel Applets More Accessible.

  • Note: Don't type the "##" characters - that's where the index of the icon goes - zero (0) signifies the first icon in the file, if it has more than one.

  • Note: Most icons and executables have only one file - zero (0) should be used in this case. However, for files containing more than one icon, you can find out the index (denoted above by ##) by creating a shortcut on your desktop. Right-click on it, select Properties, click on the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon, specify the desired filename, and choose the icon you want.

  • Note: You can also change most of these icons with Microangelo.


Written by: Annoyances.org
Last updated: Friday, February 28, 2003

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