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All About Icons |
As you can see, the icons in the Current icon list come from the SHELL32.DLL
file.
(If the shortcut is to an MS-DOS program, the icons in the Current
icon list come from the PIFMGR.DLL file.)
If you don't see an icon in the list that catches your fancy, you can
click the Browse... button to open other files, such as ICO, EXE or DLL
files, that contain icons. The table shown below, lists some of the Windows
95 EXE and DLL files that contain a selection of icons.
File name Location
Awfxex32.exe C:\Windows\System
Cool.dll
C:\Windows\System
Defrag.exe C:\Windows
Gnaapp.exe C:\Windows\System
Moricons.dll C:\Windows
Pifmgr.dll
C:\Windows\System
Progman.exe C:\Windows
Shell32.dll C:\Windows\System
Systray.exe C:\Windows\System
User.exe
C:\Windows\System
Winpopup.exe C:\Windows
Hiding All Icons from the Desktop
1.Start Regedit
2.Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current
Version \ Policies \
Explorer
3.Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
4.Name it NoDesktop
5.Give it a value of 1
6.Logoff or Reboot the computer
7.Now all icons are hidden on the desktop.
To do this with a Registry Patch, copy all between the double lines
to notpad and "Save as" HideIcon.reg
==================
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoDesktop"=dword:00000001
==================To restore
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoDesktop"=dword:00000000
The icons that windows95 uses on the desktop and elsewhere are stored
in a file named shelliconcache. The default limit which MS uses is
too low. Hence, when you introduce a new icon to the system by opening
a new folder, etc., the cache is dumped and rebuilt. You can test
this yourself by opening several instances of explorer at different folders.
The desktop will refresh when the limit is reached.
To solve the problem, edit the registry to increase the default maximum
number of icons stored in the cache. Here is my Registry
Export file to accomplish this.
It increases the default to 8000 icons. You can experiment with that
"8000" value.
==================
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer]
"Max Cached Icons"="8000"
1. Start Regedit
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Shell Icons
3. The default icons are numbered in the right panel from 0-40
4. Double click on the number of the particular icon you want to change. See the chart below.
5. Enter the name of the icon file you want to use followed by the number
of the icon in that file.
Note: The numbering starts with zero.
6. If you use a single .ICO file, it should be followed by a 0.
7.e.g. - filename.dll,4 - This would actually be the 5th icon since
it starts with 0.
Below is a reference for the icons:
0 - Default Icon
1 - Default Document
2 - Application
3 - Closed Folder
4 - Open Folder
5 - 5 1/4 Drive
6 - 3 1/4 Drive
7 - Removable Drive
8 - Hard Drive
9 - Network Folder
10 - Network Offline
11 - CD
12 - RAM Drive
13 - Entire Nertwork
15 - My Computer
16 - Printer
17 - Network Neighborhood
18 - Network Workgroup
19-27 are the Start Menu icons
19 - Programs
20 - Desktop
21 - Settings
22 - Find
23 - Help
24 - Run
25 - Suspend
27 - Shutdown
28 - Share
29 - Shortcut
31 - Recycle Bin (Empty)
32 - Recycle Bin (Full)
33 - Folder, Dial-Up Networking
34 - Desktop
36 - Program Group
40 - Audio Card
Additional icons can be found in:
\WINDOWS\MORICONS.DLL
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\PIFMGR.DLL
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHELL32.DLL
My Computer - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Network Neighborhood - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
InBox - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Recycle Bin - HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
1.Open REGEDIT.EXE
2.Open the Key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
3.Open the Key LNKFILE
4.Delete the value IsShortcut
5.Open the next Key PIFFILE
6.Delete the value IsShortcut
7.Restart the Win95
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q185/2/17.asp
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry.
Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it
if a problem occurs.
For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry"
Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic
in Regedt32.exe.
SYMPTOMS
When you start your computer, you may notice that the following desktop icons now appear as the default Windows icon:
My Computer
Network Neighborhood
Recycle Bin
Inbox
Internet
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if you install, and then uninstall a program that has the capability of changing these desktop icons. If you uninstall this type of program, the icon files that are associated with these icons may no longer be present on your computer, and the desktop icons may revert to the default Windows icon.
RESOLUTION
To restore an altered desktop icon to the original desktop icon, use the appropriate method, and then restart your computer:
For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys
And Values"
Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete
Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in
Regedt32.exe.
Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.
My Computer Icon
Use Registry Editor to locate the following key in the registry, and
then edit the default
item's value data so that it is "explorer.exe,0" (without quotation
marks):
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ DefaultIcon\
ab(default) value= explorer.exe,0
Network Neighborhood Icon
Use Registry Editor to locate the following key in the registry, and then edit the default item's value data so that it is "shell32.dll,17" (without quotation marks):
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}\ DefaultIcon\
ab(default) value= shell32.dll,17
Recycle Bin Icon
Use Registry Editor to locate the following key in the registry, and
then edit the default item's value data so that it is "shell32.dll,32"
(without quotation marks).
Also, edit the Empty item's value so that it is "shell32.dll,31" (without
quotation marks), and the Full item's value so that it is "shell32.dll,32"
(without quotation marks):
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}\
DefaultIcon\
ab(default) value= shell32.dll,32
ab Empty value= shell32.dll,31
ab Full value= shell32.dll,32
Inbox Icon
Use Registry Editor to locate the following key in the registry, and then edit the default item's value data so that it is "c:\exchange\exchang32.exe" (without quotation marks):
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}\ DefaultIcon\
ab(default) value= c:\exchange\exchng32.exe
NOTE: This is making the assumption that the Exchange folder contains the Exchnge32.exe file. If this is not the case, make the appropriate change to the path.
The Internet Icon for Internet Explorer Version 4.0 or 4.01
Use Registry Editor to locate the following key in the registry, and then edit the default item's value data so that it is "c:\program files\internet Explorer\ iexplore.exe,-32528" (without quotation marks):
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ DefaultIcon\
ab(default) value=C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe,-32528
NOTE: This is making the assumption that the Program Files\Internet
Explorer folder contains the Iexplore.exe file. If this is not the
case, make the appropriate change to the path.
The Internet Icon for Internet Explorer Version 3.x
Use Registry Editor to locate the following key in the registry, and then edit the default item's value data so that it is "c:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\ iexplore.exe,0" (without quotation marks):
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{FBF23B42-E3F0-101B-8488-00AA003E56F8}\ DefaultIcon\
ab(default) value= C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe,0"
NOTE: This is making the assumption that the Program Files\Internet
Explorer folder contains the Iexplore.exe file. If this is not the
case, make the appropriate change to the path.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q171/3/25.asp
When you view icon (.ico) files, the icons may display the default Windows system icon instead of the actual icon image.
To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
1.Double-click My Computer, and then click Options on the View menu.
2.Verify that the Icon file type appears on the File Types tab. If the Icon file type does not appear in the Registered File Types box, skip to step 10.
3.Click Icon in the Registered File Types box, and then click Edit.
4.Verify that the following settings exist, and then click OK:
- The Description Of Type box contains "Icon" (without the quotation
marks).
- If there is a Confirm Open After Download check box, it should be
selected.
5.If the settings do not appear exactly as listed in step 4, click Remove, click Yes, and then click OK. If the settings do appear as listed in step 4, skip to step 10.
6.Click New Type.
7.In the Description Of Type box, type "Icon" (without quotation marks).
8.In the Associated Extension box, type "ICO" (without quotation marks).
9.Click OK, and then click Close.
10.Use Registry Editor to view the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ico key, and then verify that the default string contains the following value:
ico_file
If the .ico key does not exist, create it, and then insert the value
listed above.
If any other values exist in the .ico key, delete them.
11.Use Registry Editor to view the
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\icofile
key, and then verify that the default string contains the following value:
"icon"
If the icofile key does not exist, create it, and then insert the value
listed above.
If any other values exist, delete them.
12.Create a new key in the icofile key called "DefaultIcon" (without quotation marks), and type "%1" (without quotation marks) as this key's default value.
13.Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.
Rename [AUTORUN.INF]
It sounds simple and not even connected to icon's. But it works??
Go Figure -:)
"If you enable user profiles on a system, it seems that all of the desktop
settings are individual with the exception of certain desktop icons (My
Computer, Network Neighborhood, Recycle Bin, etc).
If one user changes these icons, they are changed for ALL users on
that computer. Is there a way around this?"
Microsoft confirms that this "sticky icons" phenomenon (which arises
when a user selects one of the Plus! desktop themes) is a bug. The problem
is, Windows looks in the wrong place for the desktop icon information.
(The instructions for the desktop icons are located in the System.dat file,
but with user profiles enabled, the instructions for each user's desktop
settings are stored in his or her User.dat file--a pointless location,
since Windows never looks there for the information!)
As a work-around, you may wish to try Microsoft's suggestion for setting
up a custom scheme in each user's Startup folder.
For more details, check out Microsoft's Knowledge Base Article ID #136898
("Desktop Icons Do Not Change When Different Users Log on") at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q136/8/98.asp
To change the size of the Icons on the Desktop:
1.Right-click on the Desktop
2.Choose Properties from the context menu. On the Appearance tab look
in the Item listbox. Once you find Icon you can choose
the size from the Size box
3.To pre-view, hit the Apply button, once you are satisfied hit OK
regedit
and click OK. Inside the Registry Editor navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ DefaultIcon. In the right pane, right-mouse-click (Default) and select Modify. In the resulting dialog box, on the Value data line, type the path and number of the icon you want to use for My Computer in the format:
path, #
For example, if you wanted to use the 14th icon in the c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll file, you would type
c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, 13
Keep in mind that the numbering in any icon file starts with zero. Also, to view the icons in an icon file, right-mouse-click any folder shortcut and select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, then click the Change Icon button. You'll now see the icons in c:\windows\system\shell32.dll. If necessary, click the Browse button and navigate your way to the file containing the icon you want to use, such as c:\windows\system\pifmgr.dll, then click Open.
Click OK and close the Registry Editor. Click the Desktop once, press F5 to refresh, and there's the new icon!
(Note: If you DO have Microsoft Plus, you can change the My Computer icon on the Plus tab of the Display Properties dialog box.)
You deleted the Internet Explorer icon from the desktop. How can you get it back?
This applies to other icons also.
You can put this icon right back where it belongs using Tweak UI, a utility available on the Windows 98 installation CD. (In case you missed our previous tips on this utility, here's how to install Tweak UI: Pop the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, navigate your way to the tools\reskit\powertoy folder, right-click tweakui.inf, and select Install.)
Now to get that icon back. Open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak
UI, and select the Desktop tab. Under Special Desktop Icons, select Internet
Explorer and click OK. Back on your desktop, watch as that IE4.x icon magically
reappears.
If your having problems with Desktop icons (or the icons in Control Panel) constantly refreshing themselves, you need to increase the cache size for your icons:
1.Start the Registry Editor
2.Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \
CurrentVersion \explorer
3.Right-click an empty space in the right pane
4.Select New > String Value
5.Name the new value Max Cached Icons
6.Double-click on the Max Cached Icons string and enter a value of
2048 (you
can increase that size if necessary)
7.Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows
P.S. it could take up to 3 restarts before this fix "takes".