re: Internet shortcuts’ custom icons
Friday, April 25, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Windows XP Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by GeoNOregon
(5 messages posted)
I was looking for something else and stumbled upon this multi-year old discussion
regarding Internet shortcuts. Something I'd like to point out is that with XP, the
age old
method of using the file association applet is a nightmare waiting to happen. There
is a problem with this applet.
I haven't heard anything about it being fixed in SP2. I'm sure not going to open
it on my system and test it if it is! :)
I can't remember what screws up in XP as this happened to me 2+ years ago. I was
making a new file association and afterwards, I starting having problems -- come
to find
out there's probs with the File Association applet. It's fairly well documented,
just search on it.
I've been using Firefox for a long time, so it's been a while since I converted my
icons and file association from IE to Firefox, but I'm working on something similar
right
now. I'll refresh my memory and write a quick how-to.
My method WILL involve editing your registry, but this is something you shouldn't
be scared of. Just make sure you back the dang thing up.
Here's a couple of methods and a short info piece on the registry:
Here's some info about the Registry you should be familiar with. (**copy & keep
this somewhere as a reference)
What is the System Registry?
-------------------------------
The precursor to the registry was *.ini files. Initialization files if memory serves
me well. Simply, .ini files were startup info files for applications. They also
contained
some info for the program while it was running. Each program usually had one, some
had more. Windows had several. There was also a registry in the early days, but
it's
presence didn't become much of a factor until W95.
The .ini files were all but dumped with W95 as the registry became a central repository
for the info formerly contained the the multiple .ini files. The operating system,
(OS), uses it as well as applications.
By the time XP came along most programs were registry compliant and .ini's were history....
(except for a few places in the OS. I discovered a year or so ago that Desktop
Theme files are actually .ini files, MS just doesn't call them that!)
* In Windows 95, 98, and Me, the Registry is contained in two hidden files in your
Windows directory, called USER.DAT and SYSTEM.DAT.
* In Windows 2000 and Windows XP, the Registry is stored in several Hives, located
in the \windows\system32\config and \Documents and Settings\{username} folders.
Structure of the Registry
--------------------------
The Registry has a hierarchal structure, like the directories on your hard disk.
Look below at 'Using the Registry Editor' for a detailed description.
Each branch (denoted by a folder icon in the left side of the Registry Editor) is
called a Key.
Each Key can contain other Keys, as well as Values.
Each Value contains the actual information stored for the OS and applications. (values
& hteir data are shown in the right side of the Registry Editor)
There are three types of Values:
String
Binary
DWORD
The use of these depends upon the context.
There are six main branches (five in Windows 2000 and Windows XP), each containing
a specific portion of the information stored in the Registry. They:
* HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT - this branch contains all of your file types as well as OLE
information for all your OLE-aware applications.
* HKEY_CURRENT_USER - this branch points to the part of HKEY_USERS appropriate for
the current user.
* HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE - this branch contains information about all of the hardware
and software installed on your computer. Since you can specify multiple
hardware configurations, the current hardware configuration is specified in HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG.
* HKEY_USERS - this branch contains certain preferences (such as colors and control
panel settings) for each of the users of the computer.
(In Windows 95/98/Me, the default branch here contains the currently-logged in user.
In Windows 2000/XP, the default branch here contains a template to be used for
newly-added users.)
* HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG - this branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE appropriate
for the current hardware configuration.
* HKEY_DYN_DATA (Windows 95/98/Me only) - this branch points to the part of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE,
for use with Windows' Plug-&-Play subsystem.
Using the Registry Editor
---------------------------
The Registry Editor (regedit.exe or regedit32.exe) is included with Windows to enable
you to view and edit the contents of the Registry. When you open the Registry
Editor, you'll see a window divided into two panes. The left side shows a tree with
folders (see Structure of the Registry), and the right side shows the contents (values)
of
the currently selected folder (key).
To expand a certain branch, click on the little plus sign [+] to the left of any
folder, or just double-click on the folder. To display the contents of a key (folder),
just click
the desired key, and look at the values listed on the right side. You can add a new
key or value by selecting New from the Edit menu. You can rename any value and almost
any key with the same method used to rename files; right-click on an object and click
rename, or click on it twice (slowly), or just press F2 on the keyboard. Lastly,
you can
delete a key or value by clicking on it, and pressing Delete on the keyboard, or
by right-clicking on it, and choosing Delete.
A tip for working with the Registry Editor is to learn how the 'Copy Key Name' funciton
in the right click context menu works. It's a good way to keep a log of what you
are doing/have done. Right click on a key and choose 'Copy Key Name'. Then paste
it into Notepad. Here's an example of typical note I will in a log:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
C-Media Mixer C:\WINDOWS\NewMixer.exe /startup
## removed '/startup'
This log entry is 90% cut & paste with no manual highlighting involved. The Key name
is copied using the 'Copy Key Name'. The 'C-Media Mixer' was copied using the right
click context menu's 'rename' function. I then doubled-click on the name of the
Value (C-Media Mixer) and copied the automatically highlighted value. The point
being, I
quickly made the log enter with a few clicks, and three copy-pastes, only typing
the note following '##'. The Registry Editor makes it easy to create a log of your
changes,
there's no excuse not to.
Importing, Exporting, and Applying Registry Patches
-------------------------------------------------------
Although you can edit the Registry with the Registry Editor, you can also make changes
by using Registry patches. A Registry patch is a simple text file with the .REG
extension that contains one or more keys or values. If you double-click on a .REG
file, the patch is applied to the registry. This is a good way to share or back up
small
portions of the registry for use on your own computer.
You can create a Registry patch by opening the Registry Editor, selecting a branch,
and choosing Export from the File menu. Then, specify a filename, and press OK. You
can then view the Registry patch file by opening it in Notepad (right-click on it
and select Edit). Again, just double-click on a Registry patch file (or use Import
in the
Registry Editor's File menu) to apply it to the registry.
With that said, I don't agree with the common wisdom that using a .reg files is easier
or less dangerous. In my opinion, they are easier or less dangerous for the person
that
writes them, but I've never liked the idea of clicking on something that changes
the registry and not knowing what it does.
Generally, there's way too much fear of 'manually editing' the registry. It's easy
to do, you can't do anything really stupid unless you try real hard. With that said,
the
easiest really stupid thing is to not back up your registry before making a change.
The thing that CAN sneak up and grab you is deleting something by accident. There
is no
'Save' function in Registry Editor, when yo make a change, it's changed. Fortunately,
the typical 'Are you sure you want to do this, stupid?' messages are consistently
there to save you from yourself.
Registry Backup
-----------------
Windows 2000 & XP Method
===========================
Before editing the Registry, back it up. Open the Registry Editor (Start/Run, and
type regedit in W2K or NT type RegEdit32), and pull down the Registry menu. Choose
Export Registry File. Decide where you want to store the backup file, type a name
for the file, select All under Export range, and click Save. Your Registry file is
now
backed up.
* If ever you need to restore the Registry, here's how. Double-click the Registry
file that you created. Choose Import Registry File under Registry, select the Registry
file, and click Open.
* Or, simply navigate to the *.REG* file in Windows Explorer (Explorer.exe) and
double click on it. The registry values are restored automatically.
Windows 95, 98, and Me Method
===============================
1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Navigate to C:\Windows\
3. Right click on C:\Windows
4. Select Find from the context menu
5. Type, or copy and paste the following into the Find What box:
system.dat,user.dat
6. Highlight and copy these two files into a neutral folder.
* A neutral folder is anything in the folder tree which does not show a
pointer to vital system files. These system files are generally stored in:
o C:\
o C\Windows
o C\Windows\Command
o C\Windows\System
o C\Windows\System32
* Any other folder than the above is fine or create a folder of your own.
Something like:
C:\RegistryEdits
7. If once you reboot your system and it starts acting a little flaky, simply
go to the folder in which you stored these two files and copy them back to the:
C:\Windows
Folder
8. Be sure to choose "Overwrite" if prompted.
I'll post the icon fix later tonight or tomorrow.
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