How To Change Desktop Icon

Are you looking for instructions on how to change desktop icon? From time to time, some icons may randomly change in “My Computer,” “Windows Explorer,” the “Quick Launch” toolbar, or your computer’s desktop. According to Microsoft, this can happen if the icon cache is not updated.

Fixing the problem requires modification to the registry. To change desktop icons to their original appearance, follow these steps carefully. Back up the registry before you begin, so you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.  

Items Needed:

• Personal computer
• Windows operating system

1. Refresh the icons in your folder. Press the F5 key on your computer keyboard to refresh the icons in your current folder. Close the folder.
2. Open a window with incorrect icons. Reopen the window that contains incorrect icons. Then restart your computer.
3. Re-create the ShellIconCache file. Your computer automatically re-creates the ShellIconCache file when you change the display’s color depth. To make this change, right-click on the desktop, click “Properties,” and click “Settings.” Change the color depth to a new setting. Click “Apply” and “Yes” to accept the change. Repeat the process to change the color depth back to the original setting.
4. Open the “Registry Editor” to change a registry key. Add the “Max Cached Icons” string value (with value data of 2000) to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer.
5. Restart your computer and make necessary changes. If your desktop icons are still messed up, delete the ShellIconCache file. Microsoft says the “Maxed Cached Icons” value data ranges from 100 to 4096, with a default value of 500.
6. Make simple icon changes. To change a desktop icon from its original appearance to something new, right-click the icon. Click “Properties” and then “Change Icon.” Select “Browse” to look for available icons in a file. Click on your chosen icon and click “Apply.”