Change Windows 7 Default Folder Icon

How to Change the Windows 7 Default Folder Icon

   Information

This will show you how to change all of the default yellow folder icons in Windows Explorer to any custom icon that you want instead in Windows 7.

User Folder icons will not be affected by this.

   Note

If you have thumbnails turned on, then only empty folders will have the new icon displayed in Windows Explorer when the folder view is set to anything other than Small icons, Details, or List. Otherwise the folders will have a thumbnail preview icon when the folder is not empty instead. When the folder view is set to Small icons, Details, or List, then all folders will display the new icon since they are small icons.

If you have thumbnails turned off, then all folders will have the new icon display no matter what the folder view is set to in Windows Explorer.

   Warning

• You can only do this while logged in to a administrator account.
• This will affect all user account's folder icons on the computer.

EXAMPLE: Folder Icon
NOTE: This is Windows Explorer with the default folder icon (left screenshot) and a custom folder icon (right screenshot). This is with the folder view is set to Details.

OPTION ONE

---

Change the Default Folder Icon

1. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search line and press Enter.

2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

3. In regedit, navigate to: (See screenshot below)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

4. In the left pane, right click on the Explorer key and click on New and Key. (See screenshot above)

5. Type Shell Icons and press Enter. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If Shell Icons is already here, then you can skip steps 4 and 5.

 

6. In the right pane of Shell Icons, right click on a empty space and click on New and String Value. Type 3 and press enter. (See screenshot below)

 

7. Right click on the number for the folder type and click on Modify. (See screenshot above)

8. To Use a Custom Icon of Your Own

   Note

• Be sure to unblock the icon file.
• Be sure save the icon file in a location that all user account's can access (ex: c:\Users\Public\My Pictures) so the icon will be able to be viewed in their account as well.
• You must use a 256x256 pixel icon .ico file for it to display properly in all icon sizes in Windows Explorer.

A) In the Modify window, type in the full path of the icon that you want to use within quotes and click on OK. (see screenshot below step 9E)
NOTE: If you change the icon's location (path), then you must also change the location here in step 8 as well for the folder to still display that icon in Windows Explorer.

"full path of the icon file with file extension"

FOR EXAMPLE:
"G:\Windows 7 PNG Files\My_Folder.ico"

B) Go to step 10.

9. To Use another Icon Included in Windows 7

A) Download and install the free program IconViewer for your 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7.
NOTE: This program will add a Icons tab to files (ex: imageres.dll) that contain a icon library in them so you can see the icons available in it.

B) In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll and right click on imageres.dll, click on Properties, and click on the Icons tab.
NOTE: You can use any of the Windows 7 files that include icons in them that you want though. This is just the most common one.

C) Scroll through the icons and make note of the icon number of the one you want to use to replace the default folder icon with, then close the properties window. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: For example, icon number 190 for the green folder icon.

D) In the right pane of DefaultIcon, right click on (Default) and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 8)

E) In the Modify window, type in the location below and click on OK. (see screenshot below)

(full path of the Windows 7 file with file extension),-####

FOR EXAMPLE:
C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll,-190

 

10. The registry will now look similar to this with your icon path under the Data column in the right pane instead. (See screenshot below)

11. If you have 64-bit Windows 7 Installed

   Note

To also change the default folder icon in the "Open" and "Save as" type dialog windows as well in 64-bit Windows 7, you will also need to do this step.

If you have a 32-bit Windows 7 installed, then skip this step and continue on to step 12 instead.

A) In Regedit, go to the location below: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer

B) Repeat steps 4 to 10 above using the same settings you used with the location from step 3.

12. Close Regedit.

13. Log off and Log on, or restart the computer to apply the new folder icon.
NOTE: Since you changed the default Folder icon, you might would like to change the Open Folder icon as well in the navigation pane to have them all changed.

OPTION TWO

---

To Restore the Default Folder Icon

NOTE: This option assumes that you did OPTION ONE above to change the default folder icon.

1. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search line and press Enter.

2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

3. In regedit, navigate to: (see screenshot below)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Icons

4. In the right pane of Shell Icons, right click on 3 and click on Delete. (see screenshot below)

 

5. Click on Yes. (see screenshot below)

 

6. If you have 64-bit Windows 7 Installed

   Note

To also restore the default folder icon in the "Open" and "Save as" type dialog windows as well in 64-bit Windows 7, you will also need to do this step.

If you have a 32-bit Windows 7 installed, then skip this step and continue on to step 7 instead.

A) In Regedit, go to the location below: 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Shell Icons

B) Repeat steps 4 and 5 above.

7. Close Regedit.

8. Log off and Log on, or restart the computer to restore the default yellow folder icon.

That's it,

How to Prevent or Allow Themes to Change Windows 7 Desktop Icons

How to Prevent or Allow Themes to Change Windows 7 Desktop Icons

   Information

This will show you how to allow or prevent the icons you changed for the Computer, User's Files, Network, and Recycle Bin desktop icons from being changed to the icons included in a new theme instead inWindows 7.

Here's How:

1. Right click on a empty area of the desktop and click on Personalize. (See screenshot below)

2. Click on the Change desktop icons link at the upper left corner. (See screenshot below)

3. To Allow Themes to Change Desktop Icons 
NOTE: Any custom (changed) desktop icon you have in your current theme will be changed whenever you change the theme.

A) Check the Allow themes to change desktop icons box. (See screenshot below step 5)

B) Go to step 5.

4. To Prevent Themes from Changing Desktop Icons 
NOTE: Any custom (changed) desktop icon you have in your current theme will not be changed whenever you change the theme.

A) Uncheck the Allow themes to change desktop icons box. (See screenshot below step 5)

5. Click on OK. (See screenshot below)

6. Close the Personalization window. (See screenshot below step 2)

That's it,

How to Change or Restore Default Windows 7 Desktop Icons

How to Change or Restore Default Windows 7 Desktop Icons

   Information

This will show you how to restore or change the default icon for the Computer, User's Files (user-name Folder), Network, and Recycle Bin desktop icons and all other locations in Windows 7.

   Note

Removable drives do not use or have a Recycyle Bin. Files deleted from removable drives are permanently deleted instead.

Here's How:

1. Right click on a empty area of the desktop and click on Personalize. (See screenshot below)

2. Click on the Change desktop icons link at the upper left corner. (See screenshot below)

3. To Change the Icon for a Desktop Icon

A) In the middle pane, select (click on) a desktop icon that you want to change the icon for, and click on the Change Icon button. (See screenshot below)

B) Select a icon that you want to use instead, or click on the Browse button and navigate to the location of the icon you want to use.
NOTE: Any icon of your own you want to use instead needs to be a 256x256 pixel .ico Vista style icon file to properly display at larger view settings.

 

C) Go to step 5.

4. To Restore the Default Icon for a Desktop Icon

A) In the middle pane, select (click on) a desktop icon that you want to restore the default icon for, and click on the Restore Default button. (See screenshot below)

5. Click on OK to apply. (See screenshot above or below step 3A)

6. Close the Personalization window. (See screenshot below step 2)

That's it,

How to Change the Default Drive Icon Picture in Window 7

How to Change a Drive Icon in Windows 7

   Information

This will show you how to change a drive icon for a internal or external drive that has a drive letter in the Computer window
 to any icon you want for just your user account, or all user accounts on the computer.

   Tip

If your default drive icon is missing or was changed and you did not do it with the methods below, then look for a hidden (not always hidden though) autorun.inf file (OPTION ONE below) in the root directory of the affected drive, right click on the autorun.inf file, and click on Delete. Next, approve the deletion. If this was an external device, then you may need to disconnect and reconnect the device for the icon to appear afterwards.

   Warning

If you select to use a custom icon of your own, then it must be a 256x256 pixel icon (.ico) file for it to display properly in all icon sizes.

EXAMPLE: C Drive icon - Default and Changed

OPTION ONE

---

Change a Drive Icon using a "autorun.inf" File

NOTE: While this option can be used for any drive, it is really useful for external drives like a USB flash drive.

1. Set your known file extentions to no longer be hidden.
NOTE: This way you will be able to rename the file extension in step 3 below.

2. Connect and/or open the drive that you want to change the icon of.

3. In the root of the drive, right click on a empty space and click on New and Text Document, then rename this fileautorun.inf and press Enter. (see screenshots below)
NOTE: If you already have a autorun.inf file in the root of this drive, then skip this step and proceed to step 4.

 

4. Copy the icon .ico file (ex: Thumb_Drive.ico) that you want to use to the root of the drive. (see right screenshot below)

 

5. If this is a New autorun.inf File

A) Open the autorun.inf file, then type each line below followed by pressing enter. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Substitute icon file name with the actual name of your icon file (ex: Thumb_Drive.ico) from step 4.

Code:

 
[autorun]
icon="icon file name.ico"

B) Click on File (menu bar) and Save, then close the autorun.inf file. (see screenshot above)

6. If you already have a autorun.inf File
NOTE: Be sure that you also check the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option in Folder Options in case the existingautorun.inf file (if there) may have been hidden.

A) Open the autorun.inf file, then add or change the icon= line below. (see screenshots below)
NOTE: Substitute icon file name with the actual name of your icon file (ex: Thumb_Drive.ico) from step 4.

Code:

 
[autorun]
icon="icon file name.ico"

B) Click on File (menu bar) and Save, then close the autorun.inf file. (see screenshots above)

7. If this is for a Internal or eSATA Dive

A) Restart the computer to apply.

8. If this is for a External Dive

A) Unplug and plug in the drive to apply.

9. Open the Computer window to see the changes.

   Note

To Restore the Default Icon
You would just need to do either option below and repeat steps 7 to 9 above.

• Delete the autorun.inf and .ico file.

OR

• If you have other lines (ex: label=) in the autorun.inf while editing it that you wish to continue using, then remove theicon= line entry for the drive, and save the changes.

OPTION TWO

---

Change a Drive Icon in Registry Editor for Current User Account Only

1. If you did OPTION ONE previously, then you will need to either remove the icon=icon file name.ico entry from theautorun.inf file, or delete the autorun.inf file in the root of the drive that you want to change the icon of.

2. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search box and press enter.

3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

4. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes

5. In the left pane, right click on Classes and click on New and Key. Type Applications and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the Applications key under Classes, then go to step 6. (see screenshot above and below)

6. In the left pane, right click on Applications and click on New and Key. Type Explorer.exe and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the Explorer.exe key under Applications, then go to step 7. (see screenshot above and below)

7. In the left pane, right click on Explorer.exe and click on New and Key. Type Drives and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the Drives key under Explorer.exe, then go to step 8. (see screenshot above and below)

8. In the left pane, right click on Drives and click on New and Key. Type the drive letter (ex: C ) that you want to change the icon for and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the drive letter (ex: C ) key under Drives, then go to step 9. (see screenshot above and below)

9. In the left pane, right click on the drive letter (ex: C ) and click on New and Key. Type DefaultIcon and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the DefaultIcon key under the drive letter (ex: C ), then go to step 10, 11, or 12. (see screenshot above and below)

10. To Restore the Default Drive Icon

A) Right click on the drive letter (ex: C ) from step 8 above that you want to restore, and click on Delete and Yes. (see screenshot below step 8)

B) Go to step 14.

11. To Use a Custom Icon of Your Own

A) Make sure that the icon is unblocked if not already.

B) Make sure that the icon is located in a folder where you have access permission rights. The icon will need to stay here for as long as you are using it for the drive icon, otherwise it will break the link and no longer display as the drive's icon.

C) In the right pane of DefaultIcon, right click on (Default) and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 9)

D) In the Modify window, type in this below and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Substitute with your icons full path and name with file extension in quotes instead.

Code:

"full path of the icon file with file extension"

FOR EXAMPLE:

Code:

"G:\Windows 7 PNG Files\Start_Orb.ico"

E) Go to step 13.

12. To Use another Icon Included in Windows 7

A) Download and install the free program IconViewer for your 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7.
NOTE: This program will add a Icons tab to files (ex: imageres.dll) that contain a icon library in them so you can see the icons available in it.

B) In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll and right click on imageres.dll, click on Properties, and click on the Icons tab.
NOTE: You can use any of the Windows 7 files that include icons in them that you want though. This is just the most common one.

C) Scroll through the icons and make note of the icon number of the one you want to use to replace the default file extension icon with, then close the properties window. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: For example, icon number 36 for the default C drive icon.

D) In the right pane of DefaultIcon, right click on (Default) and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 9)

E) In the Modify window, type in the location below and click on OK. (see screenshot below)

Code:

(full path of the Windows 7 file with file extension),-####

FOR EXAMPLE:

Code:

 
C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll,-36

13. The registry should look similar to this now depending on the icon path you entered in either step 11 or 12. (see screenshot below)

12. Close Regedit.

13. The changes should be immediate, but in some cases you may need to restart the computer to apply the changes. If the drive icon does not change for you using this option, then try OPTION ONE or OPTION THREE to change it instead.

OPTION THREE

---

Change a Drive Icon in Registry Editor for All User Accounts

NOTE: You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this option.

1. If you did OPTION ONE previously, then you will need to either remove the icon=icon file name.ico entry from theautorun.inf file, or delete the autorun.inf file in the root of the drive that you want to change the icon of.

2. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search box and press enter.

3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

4. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

5. In the left pane, right click on Explorer and click on New and Key. Type DriveIcons and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the DriveIcons key under Explorer, then go to step 6. (see screenshot above and below)

6. In the left pane, right click on DriveIcons and click on New and Key. Type the drive letter (ex: C ) that you want to change the icon for and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the drive letter (ex: C ) key under DriveIcons, then go to step 7. (see screenshot above and below)

7. In the left pane, right click on the drive letter (ex: C ) and click on New and Key. Type DefaultIcon and press enter.
NOTE: If you already have the DefaultIcon key under the drive letter (ex: C ), then go to step 8, 9, or 10. (see screenshot above and below)

8. To Restore the Default Drive Icon

A) Right click on the drive letter (ex: C ) from step 6 above that you want to restore, and click on Delete and Yes. (see screenshot below step 6)

B) Go to step 12.

9. To Use a Custom Icon of Your Own

A) Make sure that the icon is unblocked if not already.

B) Make sure that the icon is located in a folder (ex: a C:\Users\Public folder) where all users (everyone) have access permission rights. The icon will need to stay here for as long as you are using it for the drive icon, otherwise it will break the link and no longer display as the drive's icon.

C) In the right pane of DefaultIcon, right click on (Default) and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 7)

D) In the Modify window, type in this below and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Substitute with your icons full path and name with file extension in quotes instead.

Code:

"full path of the icon file with file extension"

FOR EXAMPLE:

Code:

"G:\Windows 7 PNG Files\Start_Orb.ico"

   Warning

The custom icon file that you are using must be saved at a location that can be accessed by all user accounts for it to be displayed in all user accounts. For example, in the C:\Users\Public folder.

E) Go to step 11.

10. To Use another Icon Included in Windows 7

A) Download and install the free program IconViewer for your 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7.
NOTE: This program will add a Icons tab to files (ex: imageres.dll) that contain a icon library in them so you can see the icons available in it.

B) In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll and right click on imageres.dll, click on Properties, and click on the Icons tab.
NOTE: You can use any of the Windows 7 files that include icons in them that you want though. This is just the most common one.

C) Scroll through the icons and make note of the icon number of the one you want to use to replace the default file extension icon with, then close the properties window. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: For example, icon number 36 for the default C drive icon.

D) In the right pane of DefaultIcon, right click on (Default) and click on Modify. (see screenshot below step 7)

E) In the Modify window, type in the location below and click on OK. (see screenshot below)

Code:

(full path of the Windows 7 file with file extension),-####

FOR EXAMPLE:

Code:

 
C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll,-36

11. The registry should look similar to this now depending on the icon path you entered in either step 9 or 10. (see screenshot below)

12. Close Regedit.

13. The changes should be immediate, but in some cases you may need to restart the computer to apply the changes.

thats it
Kishore G